|
Don't
Mess With
Australia's Spam Act
If
like me, you are inundated with 'spam' or unsolicited commercial
email as it's called, you'll probably be relieved that the Australian
Government has introduced the Spam Act 2003 which is
intended to help us overcome the spam problem.
Unfortunately,
there are numbers of people who think it will be of no use.
Others say it will at least provide some legal recourse against
companies that spam. Whatever, we need to know what it's all
about so we don't offend.
Usually,
legislation enacted in one jurisdiction is not enforceable in
another. Federal laws in Australia are enforceable within Australian
States and Territories and usually take precedence if there
is a conflict between State and Federal law. In this case, multilateral
arrangements are being developed with other countries to ensure
that spam laws are enforceable across international boundaries.
From
our viewpoint, we don't need to know the fine detail. What we
need to know is how to ensure we don't get caught inadvertently
(or intentionally) contravening the Spam Act which also applies
to mobile and other text messaging.
There
are four obligations that fall upon people like us who rely
on electronic messaging. They are, in brief:
-
The need to obtain express or inferred consent from recipients.
Express consent occurs when a person subscribes to a newsletter,
mailing list or otherwise provides their email address or
mobile number and agrees to receive
messages from you. Inferred consent is a little more complex
and generally means consent based on a previous business
relationship with you eg, as a customer, although there
are other occasions that are tenuous (read up on these at
the link below)
- You
must provide accurate information about yourself (as sender)
which will be valid for at least 30 days after the message
is sent. That will usually include contact information.
-
You must include an unsubscribe link in your message and honour
any unsubscribe request within 5 days
- Address
harvesting software or harvested address lists are not to
be used when sending electronic messages
One
single message may constitute spam if any one of the above obligations
are not met or not adequately met.
The
Spam Act comes into effect on 11 April 04, so it is necessary
for all of us to review our current practices and make sure
they comply with the legislation. While there is a grace period,
the penalties are steep ranging between $1,100 per contravention
for an individual with a daily maximum of $22,000 for all contraventions
during the one day, to $5,500 per individual contravention for
a body corporate with a
daily maximum of $110,000.
The
US Can-Spam Act as it's called, also came into effect recently.
Add to that a recent statement by Bill Gates that Microsoft
will be designing software to eliminate spam and the future
for spammers seems grim.
To
your success.
Robin Henry
Principal Adviser/Publisher
Desert Wave Enterprises
Your
Online Performance Support at http://www.dwave.com.au
Copyright
2004 Robin Henry
This item may be freely reproduced or
linked to a newsletter or other item, provided it is not sold
and that it is reproduced in its entirety. If you do use it,
please tell me when and where it will appear.
NB:
This information is summarised from information provided at
the Australian Government's National Office of the Information
Economy at http://www.noie.gov.au and is not a legal opinion.
If you need legal advice regarding spam you should consult a
legal practitioner.
|
