CAN-SPAM Compliance

Main Points of the CAN-SPAM Act

Outlaws the use of false or misleading headers
Outlaws the use of deceptive subject lines
Requires a clear and conspicuous opt-out mechanism within every commercial email
Requires the inclusion of a valid physical postal address within every commercial email

Violators of the CAN-SPAM Act may be subject to “cease and desist” orders or penalties from the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) of up to $16,000 per violation. Criminal prosecution is also possible in the case of egregious offenders, which can result in penalties such as fines, forfeiture of proceeds and equipment. The worst offenders can also be subject to prison time.

How VerticalResponse complies with the CAN-SPAM law:

False or misleading headers:
VerticalResponse does not allow the manipulation of any email header information and does not use relays to deploy email campaigns. This means that anyone reading a client email (recipient, ISP, etc) can clearly see that the email was sent from VerticalResponse’s servers. In addition, VerticalResponse uses only approved and ethical channels when working with ISPs. These proactive measures are in place to ensure that all client email is sent and received successfully.
Deceptive Subject Lines:
Any subject line attached to an outgoing campaign must clearly relate to the content of the email. Deceptive or misleading subject lines are prohibited both by VerticalResponse and also by federal law.
Opt-out mechanism in every email
VerticalResponse automatically inserts unsubscribe details to the bottom of every email sent from our system to ensure that there is always a clear, easy to use, and fully functional unsubscribe method included with every email campaign.
Valid Physical Postal Address
The CAN-SPAM law also requires that the “sender of the email”, (i.e. the person or company noted in the From Label), to display a physical postal address within the content of the message. VerticalResponse provides a field in our email campaign creation tool requiring ALL users to enter a valid and accurate postal address for any new campaign. This postal address appears in the footer of client email and may change from campaign to campaign in the event that the “sender” changes.

VerticalResponse monitors all outgoing email marketing campaigns to ensure compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act and our own Anti-Spam policies. If we find a problem with a given campaign we will contact you right away to discuss these issues. We obviously want your launch process to be as smooth and hassle-free as possible, but we need to ensure that VerticalResponse, and all its users, are abiding by federal law.