Client Alert

FTC Declines to Create Do-Not-Email Registry

June 28, 2004

John J. Altorelli and Thomas P. McGovern

In December of 2003, Congress passed the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003 or the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 to regulate the distribution of electronic mail messages, the primary purpose of which is the advertising or promotion of a commercial product or service, commonly referred to as spam. Perhaps the most publicized and anticipated aspect of this ground breaking legislation was the contemplation of the creation of a national do-not-email registry. The Act directed the Federal Trade Commission to report a timetable and plan for establishing such a mechanism.