The CAN-SPAM Act was implemented in the United States to protect the privacy of consumers on January 1st 2004. CAN-SPAM is short for controlling the assault of non-solicited pornography and marketing act. The act prohibits the use of misleading to and fro headers in the email. Marketers are required to include their physical address in the email (this can be a registered office). There must also be an opt out link in every email, giving the consumer the ability to request removal from the senders list. The sender is required to remove the consumer from their database within 10 working days. Any email containing sexual content must be clearly identifiable before the recipient opens it. Marketers must obtain permission from the consumer in order to sell their email address.

Internet regulators are getting much tougher on marketers who violate these laws. They are imposing massive fines, and in some cases jail sentences of up to five years. These harsher regulations are to protect the users of the internet and mail services, who felt their privacy was being violated as their email continued to be clogged up with hundreds of unsolicited emails that were being randomly sent, with no particular target market in mind. As the use of email marketing continues to grow we can expect the regulations to be futhur enforced.

In addition, marketers who continue to send email marketing messages to consumers who have requested to be removed from their list may well decide to sue. This can be very scary. The law does however protect you also. You will not be found liable if a spammer has used your business as a cover, as long as you are unaware of the situation. You are also not liable if a virus is found in your marketing emails, just so long as you did not place it there, or know it was there, prior to sending out the emails.

The Coalition Against Unsolicited Emails is a non-profit organisation helping consumers to know their rights, to stop unfair email marketing practices, and also to provide businesses with answers to their questions before they engage in such activities. They also work closely with members of Congress to get laws passed that will be in the best interests of both consumers and business. Their website is a great place to get information www.cauce.org

Email marketing is a great opportunity to keep your business in the mind of the consumer, as well as encouraging them to make fresh purchases. However, it is important that you abide by the regulations and stay within the bounds of the law. Whilst most businesses do this, many don’t, others just simply are not educated and aware in the legislation, and so break the law unintentionally (no excuse in law). The Internet is a great place to get information regarding these laws and fair email practices. Check regularly for any updates. Keep within the legislation and your business will stand out and grow accordingly.

Attacking the media has long been a tactic of national candidates. In this election, once again, we have seen this tactic employed, yet with little of the success it enjoyed in previous Presidential campaigns.  As an election and  constituitonal lawyer, one can only applaud this lack of success in the use of this tactic in this election.

For the most part in this Presidential campaign, one candidate has been leveling these attacks on the press with regularity and with increasing anger, John McCain. While newspapers expect this to some extent, the public that is not wedded to one side of the fence or the other appears to be tiring of the attacks.

Recently, John McCain denounced the New York times in the strongest words, following a Times report that McCain’s campaign manager, Rick Davis, had been pain nearly $2 million by mortgage entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. McCain’s chief strategist, Steve Schmidt said the New York Times is no longer a journalistic organization but is 150 percent in the tank for Barack Obama. Schmidt earlier attacked MSNBC as being an organ of the Democratic National Committee, and said the news media are on a mission to destroy Sarah Palin.

Unfortunately for John McCain, it has since been reported in the press that McCain’s campaign manager’s lobbying firm owned by his campaign manager has received $15,000/month for nearly three years and that and that the campaign manager was paid $30,000/month for nearly five years by an advocacy organization that he headed and which was financed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to fight regulation. It has further been reported that McCain’s senior advisor, his campaign’s vice chairman, and his Congressional liaison, also made large sums of money from Fannie and Freddie lobbying or were in firms that did.

In an apparent attempt to deflect attention away from his mistaken attack on the New York Times story, McCain then announced he was suspending his campaign to immediately fly to Washington after awaking that morning to find a report in the Washington Post that he was behind in the polls by nine points. Soon after attempting to criticize that finding, and knowing what the disaster Sarah Palin’s interview with Katie Couric would be aired that night, McCain chose to dump his appearance on the David Letterman show, upstage the Couric interview with his own interview on the CBS News, and announce the suspension of his campaign that was in reality, never a suspension.

In hindsight of course, McCain’s actions were a huge error in judgment. His dilly-dallying around New York after ditching Letterman were picked up on and hammered at him unmercifully for two nights on the David Letterman show and later on the Daily Show, other news shows, on the internet and in the press. By the time he arrived the next day in Washington, it had already been announced that there was bipartisan support for the bailout bill, that just as quickly dissipated upon his arrival. It was reported that his campaign had not been suspended and Letterman, among others joked at his expense why he must have felt he could not leave his campaign in the hands of Sarah Palin, when she was seen incapable of answering simple questions put to her by Katie Couric. And after announcing he would not take part in the debate until there was either a bailout bill or great progress toward one, he had to fly back from Washington for the debate with no bailout bill in hand and Congress much less united than when he had arrived.

In the past, attacking the press has proved fruitful for Presidential candidates. This time the attack is falling on deaf ears and has either been the exception to the rule that it will help a candidate, or there is a change taking place in what a candidate risks if he is wrong.  As an election, campaign, publishing, marketing, media and constitutional law attorney, one can only conclude that negative attacks by the candidates are not working as they used to, whether it is against the media or against the other candidate.  The public has become weary of such tactics and it is showing in the polls.

Visit the Sebastian Gibson Law website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com . If you have a publishing, literary, first amendment, media, marketing or constitutional law issue, come to an experienced law firm who can represent you as your California Publishing Lawyer, your San Diego Constitutional Attorney and your attorney throughout Southern California. We have the resources and knowledge to represent you from San Diego to Orange County, from Huntington Beach and Newport Beach to Long Beach, Santa Monica, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. We also represent clients inland from Anaheim to Temecula, from Rancho Cucamonga to Palm Springs and Indian Wells.