For Release:
April 7, 2004
FTC Extends Comment
Period on Spam Regulation
Comments Will be Accepted until
April 20, 2004
The Federal Trade Commission has extended
the deadline for submitting comments on regulations regarding
unsolicited commercial e-mail - spam – to be issued
under the recently-enacted CAN-SPAM Act. The Act requires
that the Commission issue regulations “defining the
relevant criteria to facilitate the determination of the primary
purpose of an electronic mail message.” Since the CAN-SPAM
Act applies almost exclusively to “commercial electronic
mail messages,” defining the criteria used to determine
the “primary purpose” of an e-mail will clarify
how to determine whether the Act applies to certain electronic
messages.
The Commission published an advance notice
of proposed rulemaking on March 11, 2004, seeking comment
on the mandatory “primary purpose” rulemaking,
and on several other issues, including four other areas of
discretionary rulemaking authority established in the Act,
and several reports that the Act requires the FTC to prepare
and submit to Congress. The notice set a deadline of April
12, 2004, to submit responsive comments. The notice set a
separate deadline of March 31, 2004, to submit comments regarding
the Do Not E-Mail Registry Report. The FTC did not receive
any formal request to extend that comment period. That comment
period is now closed.
On April 1, 2004, the FTC received a request
from several trade associations seeking extension of the April
12 deadline until April 20, 2004. The associations seeking
additional time were the Direct Marketing Association, the
American Association of Advertising Agencies, the Association
of National Advertisers, the Consumer Bankers Association,
and the Magazine Publishers of America. The associations cited
the religious holidays and the need to consult more fully
with their memberships to prepare complete comments as reasons
for seeking the extension. The Commission vote to
extend the deadline was 5-0.
According to a Federal Register Notice
to be published shortly, consumers and organizations will
have until April 20 to file comments. Comments can be filed
electronically through the federal government’s centralized
rulemaking Web site, www.regulations.gov. The FTC posted a
“web form” at the site to make it easier for commenters
to address the various issues in the Federal Register notice.
Commenters may address as many or as few issues as they wish,
or skip the form and write what they choose in a text box,
or attach a separate document for submission to the record.
Written comments should refer to the CAN-SPAM
Act Rulemaking, Project No. R411008, on both the envelope
and the text. Comments can be mailed by U.S. Postal Service
to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, CAN-SPAM
Act, Post Office Box 1030, Merrifield, VA 22116-1030. Courier
and overnight delivery cannot be accepted at this Post Office
Box. Comments can be delivered by courier or overnight service
to Federal Trade Commission/Office of the Secretary, Room
159-H, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580.
Comments can be mailed by U.S. Postal Service to the following
address: Federal Trade Commission, CAN-SPAM Act, Post Office
Box 1030, Merrifield, VA 22116-1030. Comments will be placed
on the public record.
Copies
of both the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and the
Federal Register Notice extending the comment period are available
from the FTC’s Web site at http://www.ftc.gov
and also from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room
130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580.
The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive,
and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide
information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them.
To file a complaint, or to get free information on any of
150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1 877-382-4357),
or use the complaint form at http://www.ftc.gov.
The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and
other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure,
online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal
law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Claudia Bourne Farrell
Office of Public Affairs
202-326-2181
STAFF CONTACT:
Michael Goodman
Bureau of Consumer Protection
202-326-3071
(FTC File No. R411008)
(http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/03/canspam.htm)
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Related Documents:
16 C.F.R. Part 316: R411008
Definitions, Implementation, and Reporting Requirements
Under the CAN-SPAM Act: Federal Register Notice Extending
Time To File Comments Until April 20, 2004
- Text
of Federal Register Notice
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