Last Updated: March 26, 2025

Our Commitment to CAN-SPAM Compliance

At Suppression Manager, we are committed to helping our customers comply with the CAN-SPAM Act (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing Act), which establishes requirements for commercial email messages and gives recipients the right to opt out of receiving them. This page outlines how our service helps you maintain compliance with CAN-SPAM requirements.

Understanding CAN-SPAM Requirements

The CAN-SPAM Act applies to all commercial email messages, which are defined as "any electronic mail message the primary purpose of which is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service." The law establishes seven main requirements:

1. Don't use false or misleading header information - Your "From," "To," "Reply-To," and routing information must be accurate and identify the person or business who sent the message.
2. Don't use deceptive subject lines - The subject line must accurately reflect the content of the message.
3. Identify the message as an ad - The law gives you a lot of leeway in how to do this, but you must disclose clearly and conspicuously that your message is an advertisement.
4. Tell recipients where you're located - Your message must include your valid physical postal address.
5. Tell recipients how to opt out of receiving future email from you - Your message must include a clear and conspicuous explanation of how the recipient can opt out of getting email from you in the future.
6. Honor opt-out requests promptly - Any opt-out mechanism you offer must be able to process opt-out requests for at least 30 days after you send your message. You must honor a recipient's opt-out request within 10 business days.
7. Monitor what others are doing on your behalf - Even if you hire another company to handle your email marketing, you can't contract away your legal responsibility to comply with the law.

How Suppression Manager Helps You Comply with CAN-SPAM

1. Opt-Out Management

Our suppression management system helps you comply with the CAN-SPAM requirement to honor opt-out requests by:

• Providing secure, reliable unsubscribe links for your email campaigns
• Processing unsubscribe requests immediately and adding them to your suppression lists
• Maintaining suppression lists for each of your offers/campaigns
• Providing a global blacklist for emails that should never be contacted
• Protecting your unsubscribe pages from DDoS attacks to ensure they're always available

2. 10-Day Compliance

CAN-SPAM requires that opt-out requests be honored within 10 business days. Our system helps you meet this requirement by:

• Adding unsubscribed email addresses to suppression lists immediately
• Providing downloadable suppression lists in various formats for easy integration with your email systems
• Offering API access for real-time suppression list verification before sending emails

3. Record Keeping

Our system maintains detailed records to help you demonstrate compliance, including:

• When each email address was added to a suppression list
• Which campaign/offer the unsubscribe request came from
• Geographic information for the unsubscribe request
• IP address information for audit purposes

4. Secure Processing

We ensure secure processing of suppression data through:

• MD5 hashing of email addresses for enhanced security
• Encryption of data in transit and at rest
• Role-based access controls
• Regular security audits and updates

Best Practices for CAN-SPAM Compliance

While our service helps you manage suppression lists and honor opt-out requests, there are other aspects of CAN-SPAM compliance that you need to address in your email marketing practices:

Email Content Requirements

• Include your physical postal address in every email
• Clearly identify your message as an advertisement when applicable
• Use accurate and non-deceptive subject lines
• Use accurate header information (From, To, Reply-To)

Unsubscribe Mechanism Requirements

• Include a clear and conspicuous explanation of how recipients can opt out
• Ensure the opt-out mechanism is easy to use
• Don't charge a fee, require unnecessary personal information, or make recipients take steps other than sending a reply email or visiting a single page to opt out
• Don't require recipients to log in or provide a password to submit an opt-out request

Monitoring Third Parties

If you use third parties for your email marketing, you are still legally responsible for compliance. Make sure to:

• Choose reputable email service providers and marketing agencies
• Ensure they have proper suppression list management practices
• Regularly audit their compliance with CAN-SPAM requirements
• Provide them with your suppression lists from our system

Penalties for Non-Compliance

The CAN-SPAM Act is enforced primarily by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and each violation can result in penalties of up to $46,517. Additionally, other federal and state agencies, as well as Internet Service Providers (ISPs), can bring lawsuits against violators.

By using Suppression Manager's tools and following the best practices outlined above, you can significantly reduce your risk of CAN-SPAM violations and maintain a positive sender reputation.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about how our service helps with CAN-SPAM compliance or need assistance with your email marketing compliance efforts, please contact us at compliance@optout.email.