What is SPAM GOLDMAN unsolicited commercial electronic email

What is SPAM? GOLDMAN: “unsolicited commercial electronic email messages” CAN-SPAM: “electronic mail message the primary purpose of which is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service”

The Harms of SPAM • Spam is annoying • Wanted vs. unwanted content (compare to other media) • Relevant vs. irrelevant • Targeting • Tolerance • Sorting spam wastes time (compare to other media) • Loss of control over in-box • Relative adoption curve • Spammers impose costs on third-parties • Spammer’s IAP • Contractual privity • Technological constraints • Recipient and recipient’s IAP • Open mail relays • Targets of forged headers • Objectionable content • Self-regulation / Filtering • Minors

CAN-SPAM • No materially false/misleading header information • Advertisers liable if reckless, receive economic benefit and don’t take reasonable steps to prevent/report • No misleading subject line • Working and clear/conspicuous opt-out mechanism • Honor opt-outs in 10 business days • Can’t sell email address • Must label CEMM as advertising and show valid physical postal address • If sexually explicit CEMM • Label “SEXUALLY-EXPLICIT” in subject line • First screen must contain certain information (and no sexually explicit content) • Aggravations • Email harvesting from website with restrictive privacy policy • “Dictionary attacks” • Automatic registrations of email accounts used to send CEMM • Knowingly relaying unpermitted CEMM • Enforcement: mainly FTC. Private IAPs have limited civil claims