CANSPAM Act of 2003 and How it Will
Affect Our Marketing Campaigns
(b) AGGRAVATED VIOLATIONS RELATING TO COMMERCIAL ELECTRONIC MAIL.-
(1) ADDRESS HARVESTING AND DICTIONARY ATTACKS.-
(A) IN GENERAL.-It is unlawful for any person to initiate the transmission,
to a protected computer, of a commercial electronic mail message
that is unlawful under subsection (a), or to assist in the origination
of such message through the provision or selection of addresses
to which the message will be transmitted, if such person had actual
knowledge, or knowledge fairly implied on the basis of objective
circumstances, that-
(i) the electronic mail address of the recipient was obtained using
an automated means from an Internet website or proprietary online
service operated by another person, and such website or online service
included, at the time the address was obtained, a notice stating
that the operator of such website or online service will not give,
sell, or otherwise transfer addresses maintained by such website
or online service to any other party for the purposes of initiating,
or enabling others to initiate, electronic mail messages; or
(ii) the electronic mail address of the recipient was obtained
using an automated means that generates possible electronic mail
addresses by combining names, letters, or numbers into numerous
permutations.
(B) DISCLAIMER.-Nothing in this paragraph creates an ownership
or proprietary interest in such electronic mail addresses.
This relates to the harvesting of email addresses by automated
means. More specifically, it addresses automated harvesting of email
addresses from a website that has an active privacy policy stating
that they will not give, sell, or otherwise transfer those addresses
to other parties. It also includes the use of bulk email services
that gather their email list addresses by those means. If you know
the names were collected with this method, then you are also guilty
by using the list.
This also addresses the use of programs to generate possible email
addresses by automated means. Each email we send requires routing
so we are able to get it through our mail service and actually read
it. If a generator program is used, and the email is not valid,
it still requires attempted routing to send it to the intended recipient.
If you have ever had a mail bounce back, you know what I am talking
about. It is usually an email sent to you by your server telling
you that the email was undeliverable. So if someone is generating
and sending hundreds or thousands of messages this way, then you
can see where there would be resources tied up in trying to notify
someone that the mail was not deliverable. Again, this causes congestion
and added expenses for ISP and companies having to deal with such
problems.
(2) AUTOMATED CREATION OF MULTIPLE ELECTRONIC MAIL ACCOUNTS.-It
is unlawful for any person to use scripts or other automated means
to register for multiple electronic mail accounts or online user
accounts from which to transmit to a protected computer, or enable
another person to transmit to a protected computer, a commercial
electronic mail message that is unlawful under subsection (a).
(3) RELAY OR RETRANSMISSION THROUGH UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS.-It is
unlawful for any person knowingly to relay or retransmit a commercial
electronic mail message that is unlawful under subsection (a) from
a protected computer or computer network that such person has accessed
without authorization.
You may not sign up for multiple email accounts to send messages
harvested as described above, or to send to addresses gained from
an automated email generated list of possible email addresses. You
may also not send such emails from a computer you gain access to
without authorization. Hackers beware. Unauthorized access can also
be when you are instructed not to send bulk email on a system, but
you do anyways. Be careful, and make sure to read any terms of service
associated with email accounts you have signed up with.
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Chew
a Little More - We're Almost Done (Article Continues)
Canspam Compliance Company Interviews
Other Legal Articles:
Related E-Book Downloads
By James R. Sanders
January 06, 2003
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