[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 69 (Friday, April 9, 2004)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 18851-18852]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-8088]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 316

[Project No. R411008]
RIN 3084-AA96


Definitions, Implementation, and Reporting Requirements Under the 
CAN-SPAM Act

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

ACTION: Extension of period to submit comments in response to advance 
notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: In a Federal Register document published March 11, 2004, the 
FTC requested comment on various topics related to Sec. Sec.  3(2)(C), 
3(17)(B),

[[Page 18852]]

5(c)(1), 5(c)(2), and 13 of the Controlling the Assault of Non-
Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003 (``CAN-SPAM Act'' or 
``the Act''). In addition, the FTC requested comment on topics relevant 
to certain reports to Congress required by additional provisions of the 
CAN-SPAM Act. In response to a request for an extension of the comment 
period received April 1, 2004, the Commission has extended the comment 
period until April 20, 2004.

DATES: Comments addressing any aspect of the CAN-SPAM Act (except the 
Do Not Email Registry Report the FTC must prepare and submit to 
Congress pursuant to section 9 of the CAN-SPAM Act) must be submitted 
on or before April 20, 2004. (The deadline for receipt of comments on 
the Do Not Email Registry Report was March 31, 2004.)

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments. 
Comments should refer to ``CAN-SPAM Act Rulemaking, Project No. 
R411008'' to facilitate the organization of comments. A comment filed 
in paper form should include this reference both in the text and on the 
envelope, and should be mailed to the following address: Federal Trade 
Commission, CANSPAM Act, Post Office Box 1030, Merrifield, VA 22116-
1030. Please note that courier and overnight deliveries cannot be 
accepted at this address. Courier and overnight deliveries should be 
delivered to the following address: Federal Trade Commission/Office of 
the Secretary, Room 159-H, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20580. Comments containing confidential material must be filed in paper 
form. An electronic comment can be filed by (1) clicking on http://www.regulations.gov; (2) selecting ``Federal Trade Commission'' at 
``Search for Open Regulations;'' (3) locating the summary of this 
Notice; (4) clicking on ``Submit a Comment on this Regulation;'' and 
(5) completing the form. For a given electronic comment, any 
information placed in the following fields--``Title,'' ``First Name,'' 
``Last Name,'' ``Organization Name,'' ``State,'' ``Comment,'' and 
``Attachment''--will be publicly available on the FTC Web site. The 
fields marked with an asterisk on the form are required in order for 
the FTC to fully consider a particular comment. Commenters may choose 
not to fill in one or more of those fields, but if they do so, their 
comments may not be considered. The FTC Act and other laws the 
Commission administers permit the collection of public comments to 
consider and use in this proceeding as appropriate. All timely and 
responsive public comments with all required fields completed, whether 
filed in paper or electronic form, will be considered by the 
Commission, and will be available to the public on the FTC Web site, to 
the extent practicable, at http://www.ftc.gov. As a matter of 
discretion, the FTC makes every effort to remove home contact 
information for individuals from the public comments it receives before 
placing those comments on the FTC Web site. More information, including 
routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, may be found in the FTC's 
privacy policy, at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Goodman, Staff Attorney, (202) 
326-3071; or Catherine Harrington-McBride, Staff Attorney, (202) 326-
2452; Division of Marketing Practices, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 
Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CAN-SPAM Act directs the Commission to 
issue regulations, not later than 12 months following the enactment of 
the Act, ``defining the relevant criteria to facilitate the 
determination of the primary purpose of an electronic mail 
message.''\1\ The CAN-SPAM Act also provides discretionary authority 
for the Commission to issue regulations concerning certain of the Act's 
other definitions and provisions. Specifically, the Commission is 
authorized to:
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    \1\ CAN-SPAM Act, section 3(2)(C). The term ``the primary 
purpose'' is incorporated in the Act's definition of the key term 
``commercial electronic mail message.'' Specifically, ``commercial 
electronic mail message'' encompasses ``any electronic mail message 
the primary purpose of which is the commercial advertisement or 
promotion of a commercial product or service (including content on 
an Internet website operated for a commercial purpose.)'' CAN-SPAM 
Act, Sec.  3(2)(A) (emphasis supplied).
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     modify the definition of the term 
``transactional or relationship message'' under the Act ``to the extent 
that such modification is necessary to accommodate changes in 
electronic mail technology or practices and accomplish the purposes of 
[the] Act;'' \2\
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    \2\ CAN-SPAM Act, section 3(17)(B).
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     modify the 10-business-day period prescribed in 
the Act for honoring a recipient's opt-out request;\3\
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    \3\ CAN-SPAM Act, section 5(c)(1)(A)-(C).
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     specify activities or practices as aggravated 
violations (in addition to those set forth as such in section 5(b) of 
the CAN-SPAM Act) ``if the Commission determines that those activities 
or practices are contributing substantially to the proliferation of 
commercial electronic mail messages that are unlawful under subsection 
[5(a) of the Act]''; \4\ and
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    \4\ CAN-SPAM Act, section 5(c)(2).
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     ``issue regulations to implement the provisions 
of this Act.''\5\
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    \5\ CAN-SPAM Act, section 13.
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    On March 11, 2004 the Commission published an advance notice of 
proposed rulemaking (``ANPR'') to initiate the mandatory ``primary 
purpose'' rulemaking proceeding by soliciting comment on issues 
relating to that term and its use in the Act.\6\ In addition, the ANPR 
solicited comments on the several areas of discretionary regulation 
listed above. Finally, the Commission also solicited comment in this 
ANPR on a variety of topics relevant to certain reports that, pursuant 
to the mandate of the CAN-SPAM Act, the Commission must issue within 
the coming two years.\7\
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    \6\ 69 FR 11776 (Mar. 11, 2004).
    \7\ CAN-SPAM requires the Commission to prepare and submit to 
Congress four separate reports within the next two years: A report 
on establishing a ``Do Not Email'' Registry to be submitted by June 
16, 2004; a report on establishing a system for rewarding those who 
supply information about CAN-SPAM violations by September 16, 2004; 
a report setting forth a plan for requiring commercial email to be 
identifiable from its subject line by June 16, 2005: and a report on 
the effectiveness of CAN-SPAM by December 16, 2005.
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    On April 1, 2004 the Commission received a letter from Ronald L. 
Plesser of Piper Rudnick requesting, on behalf of the American 
Association of Advertising Agencies, the Association of National 
Advertisers, the Consumer Bankers Association, the Direct Marketing 
Association, and the Magazine Publishers of America, that the 
Commission extend the comment period to April 20, 2004. In support of 
this request, the letter states that an extension of time would allow 
the requesting entities more time to contact their members to further 
evaluate the ANPR. The letter also explains that, in light of upcoming 
religious holidays, a short extension of time is needed for the 
requesting entities to adequately present their views.
    In response to this request, the Commission has determined to 
extend the comment period on all topics set forth in the Advance Notice 
of Proposed Rulemaking, except the Do Not Email Registry report, until 
April 20, 2004.\8\
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    \8\ The deadline for comments on the Do Not Email Registry 
report was March 31, 2004. The parties that requested extension of 
the ANPR comment period did not request extension of the comment 
period on the Do Not E-mail Registry report.

    By direction of the Commission.
C. Landis Plummer,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 04-8088 Filed 4-8-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P