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FTC Requires Sexually Oriented E-mails Be Labeled As Such
By Patricia Odell
PROMO Xtra, Apr 15 2004
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The Federal Trade Commission hopes to put a stop to those surprise pornographic images that can pop up in millions of e-mail inboxes if unwittingly opened.
Beginning May 19, the FTC will require the senders of unsolicited e-mails that contain sexually oriented content to include the words "sexually-explicit" in the subject line. The mandate was set as part of the required rule making in the Can-Spam Act. The words must be included in the subject line as well as and in the electronic equivalent of a "brown paper wrapper" in the body of the message, the FTC said.
The sender's valid postal address is also required and must be posted in a clear and conspicuous manner. Violators are subject to fines, civil penalties up to $11,000 per violation, up to five years imprisonment and injunctions or restraining orders to shut down operations.
Will it be difficult to get spammers to comply?
"This is another tool in the FTC's arsenal and law enforcement's arsenal to go against some of the most offensive and objectionable spammers," said Jonathan Kraden, a staff attorney in the FTC's bureau of consumer protection.
He said cases are difficult to bring but that the FTC has had successes.
The identification allows users to more easily filter out unwanted pornographic messages, many of which contain sexual images that may be viewed by the recipient when the e-mail is unwittingly opened.
The Can-Spam Act was signed into law Dec. 16, 2003. It required the FTC to prescribe the mark or notice within 120 days after the passage of the Act. The commission accepted comments on the issue until Feb. 17 and received 89, largely from consumers.
In a separate development, the FTC will hold a workshop June 12 on Radio Frequency Identification technology. Topics include current and anticipated uses of the tags and privacy and security concerns.
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