Do emails containing transactional or relationship content require an unsubscribe option?

by Tara Simpson, NAFCU Compliance Blog

Happy Wednesday, Compliance Friends! Today, I’ll be discussing the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act (the CAN-SPAM Act) and whether credit unions are required to provide an unsubscribe option in emails that contain transactional or relationship content.

The prohibition against deceptive headers (i.e., the “source, destination, and routing information”) applies to all emails. However, other CAN-SPAM prohibitions and requirements only apply to commercial emails. One such requirement is the requirement to include an opt-out (e.g., an unsubscribe link). CAN-SPAM provides that:

“(5) Inclusion of identifier, opt-out, and physical address in commercial electronic mail

  (A) It is unlawful for any person to initiate the transmission of any commercial electronic mail message to a protected computer unless the message provides—

 

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