|
||
Postfuture began educating its clients in June 2003 about the various federal anti-spam bills in consideration by the U.S. Congress. In December, Postfuture initiated the process of reviewing its clients' email practices and recommending any changes needed to comply with the CAN-SPAM law. With the law set to take effect January 1, 2004, there was little time to act in order to avoid the possibility of severe penalties for non-compliance. While every one of Postfuture's clients were following industry best practices, CAN-SPAM set forth new requirements for permission-based email marketing that required immediate changes in many cases. In addition, the FTC is directed to refine the law through 2004 and beyond, so Postfuture will continue to provide guidance to its clients via email alerts and the introduction of a new CAN-SPAM resource site for the latest news, compliance information and discussion forums concerning spam and email marketing. Some of the CAN-SPAM requirements can be addressed through automation. To help ensure compliance, the Company's Postpublisher™ email platform automatically inserts opt-out language and a link at the bottom of any email messages if the proper opt-out reference is not already added in by the marketer. In addition, the system automates email database hygiene by suppressing opt-outs instantly - exceeding the CAN-SPAM requirement of ten business days. To further guarantee customer opt-outs are handled properly, Postpublisher™ automatically suppresses opt-outs from a master suppression list even in cases where clients manage their own database and submit separate lists for each campaign. "Over the years, we have been ardent supporters of 'better than best' practices in permission email marketing and have strictly enforced clear and conspicuous subscription management methods as well as immediate opt-out processing," said Richard Merrick, President/ CEO of Postfuture. "With the passage of the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, marketers now have a new set of standards to meet and maintain. During 2004, federal email regulations will continue to evolve in parallel with the emergence of industry-wide trusted sender certification and authentication technologies. Our clients expect us to help them stay on top of these changes. To do this, we will be rolling out an array of CAN-SPAM compliance and ISP delivery assurance tools in the coming months," Merrick concluded. About Postfuture Trademarks
& Copyrights |
