Brutally hacked excerpts from the US Federal Trade Commission’s website:

The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act) establishes requirements for those who send … email, spells out penalties for spammers and companies whose products are advertised in spam if they violate the law, and gives consumers the right to ask emailers to stop spamming them.

A transactional or relationship message - email that facilitates an agreed-upon transaction - may not contain false or misleading routing information, but otherwise is exempt from most provisions of the CAN-SPAM Act …

What the Law Requires
It prohibits deceptive subject lines. The subject line cannot mislead the recipient about the contents or subject matter of the message.

It requires that your email give recipients an opt-out method. You must provide a return email address or another Internet-based response mechanism that allows a recipient to ask you not to send future email messages to that email address, and you must honor the requests.

Penalties
Each violation of the above provisions is subject to fines of up to $11,000.

Additional fines are provided for … emailers who not only violate the rules described above, but also harvest email addresses …

Got that?

  • Agreed upon transactions are exempt;
  • Deceptive subject lines are prohibited;
  • An opt-out method is required;
  • There are additional fines for harvesting email addresses.

Sounds like an action plan for shutting down the office jokers and politicians, doesn’t it? They’re not just annoying. They’re often incompetent idiots who broadcast your email address to everyone else on their list… including many who shouldn’t have it.

Next time you get an ancient Dilbert yuk, hit the Reply and paste in the following notice:

Sorry Charlie,
But pursuant to the requirements of the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, I request that you unsubscribe me from your mailing list.

And if that doesn’t stop ‘em, go for the $11,000… and don’t forget the penalty points. After all, your address was harvested from the Company list.

Oh, by the way… If you’re dead serious about this, you’d better a) read the un-hacked Act; b) consult your lawyer; c) find another job.

See for yourself at The CAN-SPAM Act: Requirements for Commercial Emailers.