CAN-SPAM Compliance

Operating within the CAN-SPAM Act, the US federal law for commercial email. Requires accurate headers, a non-misleading subject line, a physical mailing address in the email, and a working unsubscribe mechanism. Statutory damages are up to $50,120 per non-compliant message (2024 inflation-adjusted figure; the FTC updates the cap periodically).

Definition

CAN-SPAM (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing Act of 2003) sets the rules for US commercial email — including review-request emails. Compared to TCPA's SMS rules, CAN-SPAM is permissive about how you got the email address (no opt-in required for the first email), but strict about what the email must contain: an accurate 'From' line, a non-misleading subject, a physical postal address (P.O. Box is fine), and a working unsubscribe link that's honored within 10 business days. Most CAN-SPAM violations in the wild stem from forgetting the physical address in the footer or making the unsubscribe link nonfunctional — both are easy to fix and easy to catch in a compliance audit. The FTC adjusts the maximum statutory penalty for inflation periodically.

Example

A photographer sends 1,000 review-request emails over a year. Each one includes her studio's physical address in the footer and a clear 'Unsubscribe' link. A recipient clicks unsubscribe; her email platform suppresses that address from future sends within seconds. That's CAN-SPAM compliance in practice — nothing fancy, just the basics done consistently.

Related terms

  • TCPA Compliance →Operating within the Telephone Consumer Protection Act — the US federal law that governs commercial calls and SMS. Violations carry statutory damages of $500 per message, treble to $1,500 for willful violations. Plaintiffs' lawyers routinely file class actions.
  • FTC Reviews and Testimonials Rule →The FTC's 2024 rule (16 CFR Part 465) banning specific deceptive practices around consumer reviews — including fake reviews, undisclosed incentivized reviews, suppression of negative reviews, and certain forms of review manipulation. Civil penalties can reach over $50,000 per violation (2024 figure; the FTC updates the cap periodically for inflation).

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