CAN-SPAM Act penalties explained: Your guide to avoiding violations

Non-compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act can lead to significant penalties, impacting both finances and brand reputation. It means that businesses using email marketing strategies must imperatively understand CAN-SPAM regulations in order to avoid these costly mistakes. 

Even beyond compliance, maintaining a high sender reputation and maximizing deliverability are critical for your email success. While MailReach can’t enforce CAN-SPAM compliance, it does support healthy deliverability by helping businesses monitor and strengthen their email reputation. 

So keep in mind that through strategic email warm-up and spam testing, MailReach’s services can significantly improve your inbox placement and reduce the risk of seeing your emails end up in spam. It’s as simple as that. 

What is the CAN-SPAM Act?

The CAN-SPAM Act, or the "Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing Act," is a U.S. law established to regulate commercial emails and protect consumers from unwanted spam. 

Its purpose is straightforward: to set rules for sending commercial messages, giving recipients the right to stop receiving emails from businesses and outlining penalties for violations.

As you may imagine, non-compliance can lead to fines for each individual email in violation, which adds up fast. This is why key requirements include providing accurate "From" information, not using misleading subject lines, including a valid postal address, and providing a clear, easy way for recipients to opt-out. 

Here, the focus is put on transparency and consumer choice.

What are the penalties for violating the CAN-SPAM Act?

Violating the CAN-SPAM Act can lead to significant financial penalties. Each non-compliant email can incur a fine of up to $51,744, as enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

These civil penalties can accumulate rapidly, especially for businesses sending large volumes of emails.

In comparison, other email regulations impose different penalties. For instance, under Australia's Spam Act, fines are calculated based on the number of messages sent in violation per day. Sending more than 50 commercial electronic messages without consent in a single day can result in a fine of 1,000 penalty units, which currently amounts to $313,000 if the contraventions occurred after July 1, 2023. Yes, this much.

But keep in mind that way beyond financial repercussions, non-compliance can damage your brand's reputation and even erode customer trust.

Key requirements for CAN-SPAM Act compliance

Be cautious, as violating the CAN-SPAM Act can be easy if you’re not fully aware of its specific requirements. Here are some common practices that lead to violations:

• Using deceptive subject lines: The law is clear: subject lines must accurately reflect the content of the email. Misleading subject lines designed to trick readers into opening the email are strictly prohibited. So for example, saying “You’ve won a prize!” when the content is just a sales pitch is a direct violation. It’s as simple as that.
• Failing to include an unsubscribe option: Every commercial email must have a clear, easy-to-find method for recipients to opt-out of future messages. This is why failing to include an unsubscribe link or making it difficult to find breaches the CAN-SPAM Act. You’re also required to honor opt-out requests promptly to stay compliant, ideally within 10 business days.
• Using false or misleading “From” information: Emails must include accurate “From” and “Reply-To” fields that clearly identify the sender, as providing vague or misleading sender information, such as using a fake name or email address, is prohibited by the law and can lead to significant penalties.
• Not including a valid postal address: The CAN-SPAM Act also requires that all commercial emails contain a valid physical address where the sender can be reached. This could be a current street address, a registered P.O. Box, or a private mailbox registered with a commercial mail service. 
• Ignoring opt-out requests: Once someone opts out, continuing to send them emails represents a really serious violation. You must respect all opt-out requests, at all costs, because continuing to contact these individuals can lead to penalties and highly damage your sender reputation.

How to avoid deceptive email practices ?

To be able to avoid bad email practices, you will need to prioritize transparency and accuracy in every part of your email communication. What does it imply? That one of the fundamental requirements is to use truthful sender information. 

This means that the “From” name, email address, and reply-to address should clearly identify the actual sender, so recipients can instantly recognize who’s contacting them. On the opposite, using misleading or disguised sender names or email addresses, like impersonating another company or individual, is strictly prohibited and can quickly lead to penalties under the CAN-SPAM Act.

Another critical area: including the originating domain! The email domain should be authentic and consistent with the sender’s brand, as it builds trust and helps inbox providers verify the sender’s legitimacy, improving email deliverability in general. This is why manipulating the originating domain to appear as if the email is coming from a different source, known as spoofing, is considered deceptive and is flagged as spam by most email services.

Your business should also remain mindful of its content. Certain phrases and words can trigger spam filters and harm deliverability, especially if there are too many spam words in the content. 

How MailReach helps you (if you’re doing everything right) ?

MailReach won’t make you CAN-SPAM compliant on its own—that’s up to you and your practices. But if you’re following the rules, MailReach can be a powerful ally in keeping your emails where they belong: the inbox.

First, the MailReach email warm-up process is a must if you’re serious about email marketing and deliverability. Think of it this way: launching a brand-new email address and immediately sending out mass messages is a surefire way to get flagged as spam. But by warming up that email over a few business days, sending small amounts at first and gradually increasing volume, you’re showing email providers that your domain is legitimate, trusted, and engaged. The result? A strong sender reputation that means fewer emails landing in spam and more hitting the inbox. This is crucial for any business doing B2B outreach or email marketing and ensures you’re building a reputation that inbox providers recognize and trust.

Then there’s the MailReach email spam test, which is equally powerful. Regularly running spam tests lets you catch problems before they become major issues. Imagine this: you’re sending out a critical campaign, and some of your emails start getting blocked. With MailReach’s spam test, you can pinpoint where you might be running into issues across different inboxes, whether it’s landing in spam or facing deliverability obstacles. The test provides early warnings, so you can adjust your strategy and ensure compliance with spam act regulations.

MailReach doesn’t replace the need to follow CAN-SPAM rules, but it does give you the tools to avoid common deliverability pitfalls, protect your sender reputation, and stay on top of your email performance. If compliance is a priority and you’re already doing things right, MailReach’s warm-up and spam testing features are a game-changer. Try it out and see the difference it can make in your deliverability.