FTC Clarifies Single Sender CAN-SPAM Rule

The Federal Trade Commission amended four CAN-SPAM Act provisions. The new rules stipulate that companies don’t charge users to opt-out of receiving e-mails. They also alter the definition of the term “person,” according to the FTC press release, “to clarify that CAN-SPAM’s obligations are not limited to natural persons.”

The term “sender” was also redefined in an effort to clarify who’s responsible for enabling opt-outs when multiple parties advertise in a single e-mail. According to the Act’s full document:
The final Rule provides that multiple ‘senders’ of a commercial email, under certain conditions, may identify one among them as the ‘sender’ who will be deemed the sole ‘sender’ of the message (the ‘designated sender’). Thus, under the final Rule, the designated sender, but not the other marketers using the same email message, must honor opt-out requests made by recipients of the message. Moreover, under the final Rule, the physical address of the designated sender, but not the addresses of the other marketers using the same email message, must appear in the message.

Apparently, the FTC received nearly 60 comments regarding this proposal.