[IP] FTC Seeks Comments on Proposed Can-Spam Rules - defining 'primary purpose' of commercial email
Begin forwarded message:
From: Ethan Ackerman <eackerma@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: August 16, 2004 2:52:15 PM EDT
To: David Farber <dave@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: FTC Seeks Comments on Proposed Can-Spam Rules - defining
'primary purpose' of commercial email
Reply-To: eackerma@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
FYI,
From http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/08/canspamfrn.htm
--------------------------------
FTC Seeks Comments on Proposed Can-Spam Rules
Comments Will be Accepted Until September 13, 2004
The Federal Trade Commission will publish a Federal Register Notice on
Friday, August 13, 2004, seeking public comment on proposed rules
regarding
commercial electronic mail messages. The CAN-SPAM Act, which took effect
January 1, 2004, requires that the Commission issue regulations
"defining
the relevant criteria to facilitate the determination of the primary
purpose
of an electronic mail message." In this Federal Register Notice, the FTC
introduces proposed criteria to facilitate the determination of when an
e-mail message has a commercial primary purpose, and seeks comments in
response to this proposal.
Beginning August 13, comments can be filed electronically by following
instructions on a Web-based form available on the following Web site:
https://secure.commentworks.com/ftc-canspam. Commenters may address as
many
or as few issues as they wish by writing what they choose in a text box
available via the Web-based form, or by using the form to attach a
separate
document for submission to the record.
[...]
The August 13 Federal Register Notice will address only the FTC's
proposed
"primary purpose" criteria. This Notice will not address the
discretionary
rulemaking issues or the compliance issues upon which the FTC sought
comment
in the earlier Federal Register Notice. The FTC will address those
issues in
a future Federal Register Notice that the Commission will be publishing
shortly.
As explained in the August 13 Federal Register Notice, the FTC is
proposing
the following criteria for determining when an e-mail message has a
commercial primary purpose:
First, if an e-mail message contains only content that advertises or
promotes a product or service ("commercial content"), then the primary
purpose of the message would be deemed to be commercial;
Second, if an e-mail message contains both commercial content and
content
that falls within one of the categories listed in the Act's definition
of
"transactional or relationship message," then the primary purpose of the
message would be deemed to be commercial if either 1) a recipient
reasonably
interpreting the subject line of the message would likely conclude that
the
message advertises or promotes a product or service; or 2) the message's
"transactional or relationship" content does not appear at or near the
beginning of the message;
Third, if an e-mail message contains both commercial content and content
that is neither "commercial" nor "transactional or relationship," then
the
primary purpose of the message would be deemed to be commercial if
either:
1) a recipient reasonably interpreting the subject line of the message
likely would conclude that the message advertises or promotes a product
or
service; or 2) a recipient reasonably interpreting the body of the
message
likely would conclude that the primary purpose of the message is to
advertise or promote a product or service. Factors illustrative of those
relevant to this interpretation would include the placement of
commercial
content at or near the beginning of the body of the message; the
proportion
of the message dedicated to commercial content; and how color, graphics,
type size, and style are used to highlight commercial content.
Starting August 13, comments can be filed electronically by following
instructions on a Web-based form available on the following Web site:
https://secure.commentworks.com/ftc-canspam. Comments must be submitted
on
or before September 13, 2004. Written comments should refer to the
CAN-SPAM
Act Rulemaking, Project No. R411008 on both the envelope and the text.
Comments can be delivered by courier or overnight service to Federal
Trade
Commission/Office of the Secretary, Room H-159, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue,
N.W., Washington, DC 20580. Comments can be mailed by U.S. Postal
Service to
the following address: Federal Trade Commission, CAN-SPAM Act, Post
Office
Box 1030, Merrifield, VA 22116-1030. Comments will be placed on the
public
record.
[...]
-------------------------------------
You are subscribed as roessler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To manage your subscription, go to
http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip
Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/