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Anti-spam laws

Our system is built to comply with the electronic messaging laws of major markets.

This is a summary for guidance only, not legal advice. Check the official sources for the current law.

United States — CAN-SPAM Act

Federal Trade Commission

Each email that breaks the CAN-SPAM Act can attract a substantial civil penalty, so non-compliance is costly. The main requirements:

  • No false or misleading header information. “From”, “To”, “Reply-To” and routing information must be accurate and identify the sender.
  • No deceptive subject lines. The subject must reflect the content of the message.
  • Identify the message as an ad, clearly and conspicuously.
  • Say where you are located. Include a valid physical postal address.
  • Tell recipients how to opt out of future email, in a way that is easy to find and understand.
  • Honour opt-outs promptly — within 10 business days, without charging a fee or asking for more than an email address. You can't sell or transfer opted-out addresses.
  • Monitor what others do on your behalf. Both the advertiser and the sender can be held legally responsible.

Hong Kong — Unsolicited Electronic Messages Ordinance

Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA)

The UEMO fully commenced on 22 December 2007. Senders of commercial electronic messages must:

  1. provide clear and accurate sender information;
  2. provide an unsubscribe facility and an unsubscribe statement;
  3. honour unsubscribe requests within 10 working days;
  4. not use misleading subject headings.

It also prohibits unscrupulous techniques to widen the reach of commercial messages, and fraud or other illicit activities related to sending multiple commercial messages.

Singapore — Spam Control Act 2007

Infocomm Media Development Authority

  1. Subject line and body must be honest, clear, legal and decent, in line with the Singapore Code of Advertising Practice.
  2. A commercial message must clearly identify the marketer and the subject matter at the start.
  3. Include a valid return address and the marketer's physical address.
  4. Unsolicited bulk commercial messages must start the subject with <ADV> followed by a space.
  5. Give a clear, easy opt-out using the same channel, effective within 10 business days, with at least an English version.
  6. Where a company has several distinct brands, each must offer its own notice and opt-out.
  7. Don't send to addresses harvested by robots or created by dictionary attacks.
  8. Don't sell or share address lists with unrelated third parties without notice and an opt-out.
  9. Include the marketer's privacy policy, in the email or via a link.

Taiwan — Commercial Electronic Mail (draft act)

National Communications Commission

第四條 發信人傳送商業電子郵件，應符合下列規定：

  1. 提供收信人有選擇不再接收來自同一發信人或廣告主同類郵件之機制。
  2. 於郵件主旨欄加註「商業」、「廣告」、或「ADV」之標示。
  3. 提供正確之信首資訊。
  4. 提供發信人之身分資訊及郵遞地址。

第五條 發信人不得有下列行為：

  1. 明知或可得而知收信人已為拒絕接收商業電子郵件之表示，仍為發送者。
  2. 明知或可得而知商業電子郵件之主旨有虛偽不實或引人錯誤之表示，仍為發送者。

Malaysia — Communications and Multimedia Act 1998

Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission

Service providers are expected to bar customers from sending spam, suspend or terminate accounts that do, and publish an Acceptable Use Policy requiring every commercial email to include:

  • header information that is not false, deceptive or misleading;
  • a valid return email address;
  • a working unsubscribe (opt-out) facility;
  • the sender's identity;
  • a clear label marking it as commercial, e.g. [ADVERTISEMENT].