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On May 12, 2008 the Federal Trade Commission issued its long awaited final set of rules under the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (the “Act”). The rule:

  • Modifies the term “sender” with respect to multi-advertiser e-mails;
  • Clarifies the opt-out request process;
  • Defines the term “person”; and
  • Clarifies the meaning of “valid physical postal address” of the sender.
  • The accompanying report:
  • Explains the FTC’s interpretation of the Act’s application to affiliate marketing programs and tell-a-friend campaigns.

The rule will take effect on July 7, 2008.

On April 9, 2007, the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, affirmed a ruling of the Los Angeles Superior Court permitting the disclosure to counsel for a putative class of the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the defendant’s current and former employees unless, following proper opt-out notice, they objected in writing to the disclosure.
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On March 21, 2007, eight federal regulatory agencies (“Joint Agencies”) with jurisdiction over Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (“GLBA”) regulated “financial institutions” issued an interagency proposal for a new model privacy form. The proposal is the result of a lengthy process the Joint Agencies began in 2001 to improve the format of GLBA privacy notices to make them more comprehensible to consumers. In addition to a lack of clarity, the Joint Agencies and consumer and privacy advocates have been concerned about the length of notices and the overuse of legal terms.

Section 503 of the GLBA, 15 U.S.C. § 1603 and current rules, require financial institutions to provide their customers with a notice that describes, among other things, how they protect nonpublic personal information, the categories of nonpublic personal information collected, the affiliates and the nonaffiliated third parties to whom such information is disclosed, and a description of the customer’s right to prevent certain disclosures to nonaffiliated third parties. These notices must be provided at the outset of the institution’s relationship with a customer and, in the case of long-standing relationships, on an annual basis. Current rules do not mandate a standard format or particular wording for the notices, however, they provide sample clauses that financial institutions can use to satisfy the notice requirements.