Unsolicited E-mail
or "Spamming"
Is
It Legal?
"US Code Title 47, Sec.227(a)(2)(B),
a computer/modem/printer meets the definition of a telephone fax
machine. By Sec.227(b)(1)(C), it is unlawful to send any unsolicited
advertisement to such equipment. By Sec.227(b)(3)(C), a violation
of the aforementioned Section is punishable by action to recover
actual monetary loss, or $500, whichever is greater, for each violation."
One Perspective...
As a Web Service Provider,
we see much more of the effects of spamming as do users. We see
how it effects our customers, our servers, and the public's perception
of companies that do business on the Internet.
Spamming is a numbers game.
Spammers send their messages to say 1000 addresses, with hopes of
1/2% response. This means that 995 messages were either returned
or sent to people who just did not care. The truth is most users
are irritated by this form of solicitation and marketers who use
this method do more harm than good for their business.
Have you ever seen a spam
from a reputable organization? Our guess is no. Spamming is a form
of marketing that irritates many more users than it benefits and
therefore companies who care about their reputation do not participate.
Spamming is left for the MLM's selling long distance plans and email
lists. Overall, these spams create a general prejudice on all
companies who do business on the Internet, thus slowing the acceptance
of on-line commerce.
What is the difference between
bulk-mailing and bulk e-mailing? Sending solicitations via the regular
mail requires an investment on the senders part. When the mail is
received, the recipient has a choice to accept it and read
the offer or throw it in the trash. The recipient does not
have this choice when sent a unsolicited e-mail however. The message
is stored on their server, taking up space. The recipient has no
choice but to download the message in order to delete it. Many users
still have to pay per minute for Internet service either for connection
time or for long distance charges.
More Dangers of Spamming
- ISP Rebels...
Although many think the recipients
of the spams are the main victim, ISP's (Internet Service Providers)
are hurt the most by spammers. Their networks get flooded with spams
and both their lines and server slow down causing their customers
to go looking elsewhere for a dial-up provider. Recently there has
been a new trend for ISP's to get revenge on spammers. The ISP will
investigate the spam and find the domain of the spammer. They
will then remove that domain (or block the domain) from their name
server, thus preventing thousand perhaps even millions of browsers
accessibility to that domain. The legality issues of this practice
are just as nebulous as the legality of spamming itself. Once an
ISP blocks your domain from their users, it is very difficult to
prove that it is blocked and even more difficult to get this undone.
Anti-Spammer Activists...
Uninformed Trouble Makers!
For every spammer you have
a Anti-Spammer Activist. These are the users that attempt to track
down the origin of the spam and send a meaningless threat or a vulgar
message or every party associated with the address of the spammer.
Although some of these Anti-Spammer Activist's have good intentions,
they just create even more junk e-mail flowing through the Internet,
slowing down connection times and using up valuable hard disk space
that could be better used for storing orders. Why "uninformed"?
Very rarely does a spammer use their real e-mail address nor do
they send the mail from their ISP's mail server. These spammers
do every trick in the book to hide their identity or just use somebody
else's. So the majority of the time the flames are directed to the
wrong place.
A Solution?
We do not have one. We are
not looking to make waves by putting an end to unsolicited e-mail.
For many users, this is the only form of marketing they can afford.
What we can do is implement policies that we believe will most benefit
our customers and the Internet community in general. At WHC, we
provide our customers with much information and many tools they
can use to market their business so they do not have to resort to
spamming.
The WHC "No Spamming"
Policy Explained
The following is taken from
the WHC Operating Policy.
"(vii) Advertising, Solicitation
and Name Harvesting. We are proud to have a strict "no-spamming"
policy. It is a definite violation of WHC policy and is cause for
immediate termination."
WHC reserves the right
to terminate any user for spamming (as defined below).
"You may not use WHC to send
unsolicited advertising, promotional material, or other forms of
solicitation to any other WHC Subscribers except in those specified
areas that are designated for such a purpose (e.g., the classified
area) unless you receive the express permission of the Subscriber.
You may not use WHC to collect or "harvest" screen names of other
Subscribers without the express prior permission of the Subscriber."
Users cannot send
unsolicited messages in any form to other WHC users without their
permission ( a request by the user).
"WHC reserves the right to
block or filter mass e-mail solicitations on or through WHC servers."
WHC can block certain
known spammers from their servers if it becomes necessary.
"In addition, you a) may
not use your WHC POP account to send such solicitations"
Users cannot send
any unsolicited e-mail message(s)from their WHC POP account
b) may not use your domain
name or IP address, any sites (names, URL's or IP addresses) belonging
to WHC, or the WHC name in any non appropriate postings or e-mail
solicitations you choose to participate in anywhere on the Internet.
If a user chooses
to ignore the advice of WHC and use unsolicited e-mail as a form
of marketing, they cannot
-
list their domain
name that resides on their WHC server anywhere in the solicitation,
including return e-mail addresses
-
list their IP
address that resides on their WHC server anywhere in the
solicitation, including return e-mail addresses
Spamming
FAQ
Why don't you host
sites that spam, even if they do not use your servers for spamming?
All ethical issues aside,
our contracts with the communications companies that bring us connectivity
to the Internet do not allow it. Hosting a spammer gives WHC and
our ISP a bad name in the Internet community. We also will do our
part as an WPP to eliminate spam from the Internet.
What about sending
unsolicited e-mail to our own customers?
This is fine. E-mail can
be a very effective way to distribute information to customers.
However, this is where many "grey areas" come up. How are they a
customer? Do they know they are a customer? Are you trying to sell
them something or merely sending an announcement? Do they have a
means of getting off your list if they request it?
We have many users
on our site. What if a user decides to ignore this policy and spam
anyway?
We are reasonable and we
take this into consideration. We will ask you to inform the user
of the policy and make sure it does not happen again. It they continue
to send unsolicited messages your account will be in jeopardy. We
strongly discourage customers giving users free web space, e-mail
accounts or auto responders. This is breeding ground for spammers.
Are you saying
thought that there is a limit to what kind of legal business I can
talk about on my Web site?
Not at all! You can use your
Web site for any legal purpose (adult sites excluded). You just
cannot use unsolicited e-mail to advertise services or products.
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