The Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007 (UEM) has been enforce for three years now, yet businesses are still making mistakes in sending unsolicited emails in the hope of gaining new business; and in doing so are risking more than they could potentially gain.
The Spam checklist
1) Is your message electronic?
2) Is your message commercial?
3) Is your message unsolicited?
The message is only spam if it fits all three of these criteria
It’s important to understand that Electronic messages’ covers emails, instant messaging, SMS, multimedia message services and other mobile phone messaging (but does not include voice or fax).
A single email, sent to one person can be deemed as ‘spam’, it doesn’t need to be a bulk email or message being sent.
Businesses need to ensure they are complying with the law, not least of all being due to the range of penalties The Act specifies that are available to enforce the legislation. The range of possible activities includes formal warnings, infringement notices and court actions. A business that is found to be in breach of the Act may be subject to a court imposed penalty of up to
$500,000.
Recipients need to give consent for you to send them information, newsletter or other forms of electronic communication; there are 3 levels of consent:
Express consent is a direct indication from the person you wish to contact that it is okay to send the message(s). Express consent can be gained in a variety of ways such as:
• Filling in a paper form
• Ticking a box on a website
• A phone or face-to-face conversation.
Inferred consent is when the person you wish to contact has not directly instructed you to send them a message, but it is still clear that there is a reasonable expectation that messages will be sent. For example, the address-holder provided their email address when purchasing goods and services in the general expectation that there will be follow-up communication. Another example is swapping business cards.
If someone has been on your existing address list and has not ‘unsubscribed’, it does not mean that consent can be inferred.
Deemed consent is when someone conspicuously publishes their work-related electronic address or mobile number (e.g. on a website, brochure or magazine). However if a publication includes a statement that the person does not want to receive unsolicited commercial electronic messages at that address, consent cannot be deemed. Important; the message sent must be relevant to the recipient’s business.
For more information check: Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007 Prohibiting Spam and promoting good business practice
See also, Anti-Spam
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Posted in Blog | July 29th, 2010. Author: admin
