The Federal Trade Commission began seeking comment yesterday on proposed changes to the rules enacted under the CAN-SPAM anti-spam legislation, including one that would require e-mailers to comply more quickly with opt-out requests.
Rule changes proposed by the FTC could affect how the CAN-SPAM Act is enforced. The proposals include:
· Shortening the time an e-mail sender has to comply with an opt-out request from 10 to three days.
· Clarifying that it is illegal to require e-mail recipients wishing to opt out from marketing e-mails to pay a fee, provide information other than e-mail address and opt-out preferences or take any action besides replying to an e-mail or visiting a Web site.
· Clarifying that P.O. boxes and private mailboxes meet the requirement for a “valid physical address” under the CAN-SPAM Act.
· Defining the term “sender” as used in CAN-SPAM to clarify which party associated with a marketing e-mail is responsible for compliance.
· Defining the term “person,” which is used repeatedly in the language of the CAN-SPAM Act but not clearly defined.
The FTC will accept comments until June 27. Comments may be filed online at https://secure.commentworks.com/ftc-canspam/.
The full text of the proposed changes can be found in PDF format at ftc.gov/os/2005/05/05canspamregformfrn.pdf.