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Swanks · 12-09-2003, 07:48 PM

Heres an excerpt from a private board.. This should help those of you clueless people understand this law a bit better.

Quote:

Ok?thank you all. Here is my take on one or two aspects of the new law, which as of Monday December 8, 2003, was passed in its final version, and is by now, at the White House, awaiting the President?s signature. At that point, it is the Law of the land, and it goes into effect January 01, 2004.

First of all, it is an extremely important VICTORY for all those who have had the insight to capitalize on the great potential of the Internet. Even those studies, which were originally intended to be harsh on this industry, showed that approximately 38% of those receiving unsolicited commercial e-mail actually OPENED it. And 2% - 7% of those that opened the email solicitation?purchased goods or services as a result.

Second, by having national recognition as a Profession, we cannot be DENIED the rights of ANY OTHER RECOGNIZED PROFESSION! The SAME law that protects the lawful operations of an Abortion Clinic and its? employees, is the SAME law that protects us NOW, from ILLEGAL tactics of anti-spam groups and individuals.

Joe-Jobs designed to closed your web site or remove-me mechanisms, false complaints designed to shut down your reply to addresses, harassment, intimidation or threats that force you to operate anonymously or restrict you from conducting lawful trade. ALL OF THAT will have to STOP. If the law tells me that I have a right to operate a business, as long as I follow the rules, Anti?s might say bullshit to that, but just let one of them attack an individual or company that is in reasonable compliance with the law. What do I mean by that? Here is a quote from one of the authors and supporters of the new Law? Senator Schumer:

"With this bill, Congress is saying that if you are a spammer, you can wind up in the slammer. That is the bottom line," said a chief co-sponsor, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-New York). "The bottom line is that there will be criminal penalties and real prosecution. Will we go after every spammer, somebody who makes a mistake here and there? No. But the studies show us -- this is what gives all of us such hope -- that maybe 250 spammers send out 90 percent of the e-mail. And we are saying to those 250, no matter where you are, or how you try to hide your spam, we will find you. This bill gives the FTC and the Justice Department the tools to go after you."

And here is a summary of the law:
http://www.collegiatetimes.com/index.php?ID=2814
Full Text here:
http://www.spamlaws.com/federal/108s877.html
So my initial reaction is based on the law, how it is written and discussions with authorities and politicians about the impact of it on our profession.

SO basically, it is saying:
1. That we include a physical street address in all commercial e-mail messages.
2. Valid Reply-To addresses that are actually owned by the senders.
3. No misleading or falsification of e-mail headers.
4. A valid remove mechanism so that a recipient can be removed from any future solicitations of the sender. The remove mechanism must remain working a minimum of 30 days after a solicitation has been completed.
5. Using third party Mail Transfer Agents (relays and proxy servers) incorrectly is prohibited.
6. Harvesting e-mail addresses is prohibited.
7. Enhanced civil and criminal penalties for abusive and predatory email practices.
And a full reading of the Law implies that ?intent to defraud? is key. For instance:
a. Are you in violation of the law if you have use bogus from addresses?
b. Are you in violation if you use valid from, a correct address, remove link?EVERYTHING in compliance except you are using proxies or relays?
c. Are you in violation if an anti-spammer hammers your ISP, forcing them to shut down your web site or remove mechanism?
d. Are you in violation if you have done all you can do to comply, but an ISP discriminates against your profession or changes his/her mind ..by not allowing you to maintain the servers or resources that you need in order to COMPLY with the law?
e. How does this affect you if you setup offshore and trigger the Suspicious Activity clause of the Patriot Act? Or are one of the 26 + business types that the Act focuses on?
f. Is it lawful for an AOL, MSN or Earthlink to spam and KEEP their connectivity, but you lose YOURS because you do not have the influence or deep pockets like they do?
g. Is an ISP, Anti-Spammer, Blacklisting organization, etc., in violation of Freedom of Speech, Restraint of Trade and Unfair Trade Practices laws if they prohibit or restrict the lawful delivery of a communication between you and a potential client, IF you are following the rules as laid out by the law?

I think that if we setup in reasonable compliance with the law, and not promote something that is clearly targeted by the government, we can all make more money, gain more credibility, do more business, than we ever, ever have done in the past. This is a whole new ballgame?if we just move with the cheese :-)

I am NOT saying that proxy or relay mailing is illegal. The law says:

(2) uses a protected computer to relay or retransmit multiple commercial electronic mail messages, with the intent to deceive or mislead recipients, or any Internet access service, as to the origin of such messages.

So if I use a proxy or relay of someone who has purposely left the door open for relaying of mail, there is no real test to show that the sender did something wrong. If someone has a case to dispute this, let me know.

I am NOT saying that moving offshore is the answer. Based on what you sell, how you sell it, and where and how you SPEND your money makes a huge difference.

I AM saying that there are some things that are 100% clear no-no's and means nothing but trouble., while other things make me kick my heels with JOY !!!

What?s YOUR take on any of this?