Isabella Carter
Political campaigns have increasingly turned to digital communication tools such as emails and text messages to reach voters, donors, and volunteers. While this shift has made it easier for campaigns to connect with their target audiences, it has also resulted in a barrage of unsolicited messages and spam. The CAN-SPAM Act, enacted in 2003, sets rules for commercial email messages and gives recipients the right to stop receiving emails. However, political campaigns are exempt from providing an opt-out option in their emails, as political speech is highly protected under the First Amendment. This has led to a challenging situation for voters, who are inundated with political spam during election seasons, with limited options for unsubscribing or opting out.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Applicability | The CAN-SPAM Act applies to political campaigns |
| Requirements | Clear and conspicuous identification, valid physical postal address, truthful subject lines, opt-out mechanism |
| Compliance | Regular training for staff, monitor third parties |
| Penalties | Non-compliance can lead to severe penalties, including hefty fines |
| Exceptions | Political text messages from volunteers are not covered under the CAN-SPAM Act |
| State laws | In Michigan, political campaigns are exempt from restrictions on robocalls and automated text messages |
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What You'll Learn
Political campaigns and the CAN-SPAM Act
Political campaigns are increasingly reliant on email and social media advertising, phone calls, and text messages to reach voters and potential donors. This has resulted in voters being inundated with spam messages they cannot opt out of or avoid. While there is no federal law prohibiting candidates from sending voters texts and emails, political campaigns must still comply with the CAN-SPAM Act when sending emails.
The CAN-SPAM Act, enacted in 2003, sets rules for commercial email messages, establishes requirements for commercial messages, gives recipients the right to stop receiving emails, and lays out tough penalties for violations. Although the law was not explicitly designed for political campaigns, it has profound implications for any organization, including campaigns, that send out bulk emails.
To comply with the CAN-SPAM Act, political campaigns must follow these rules:
- Clear and Conspicuous Identification: All emails must clearly state that they are an advertisement or solicitation, except when recipients have given prior affirmative consent.
- Valid Physical Postal Address: Each email must include a valid physical postal address for the sender, such as a current street address or a post office box registered with the postal service.
- Truthful Subject Lines: Misleading subject lines are a violation of the CAN-SPAM Act. The subject line must accurately reflect the content of the message.
- Opt-Out Mechanism: Every email must contain a clear and conspicuous explanation of how the recipient can opt out of receiving future emails from the sender.
Non-compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act can lead to severe penalties, including hefty fines. It is important for political campaigns to stay informed, be proactive, and ensure their communications comply with the law.
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Political text messages and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act
During election season, there is a surge in calls and texts from political campaigns. While these campaign calls and texts are exempt from the National Do Not Call Registry requirements, they must follow specific rules outlined in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
The TCPA, implemented in 1991, includes rules regarding consent, with campaigns typically needing a person's consent to send text messages. Robocalls and robotexts to mobile phones require prior consent. However, an exception exists where a campaign manually dials a recipient's number, allowing messages to be sent without prior consent. For calls and texts that require consent, the caller must honor the recipient's request to revoke consent at any time and in any reasonable manner, such as replying "stop" to a text.
Political text messages are also subject to the TCPA's provisions on blocking illegal texts. The Act seeks to protect consumers from unwanted and harassing messages. To achieve this, the Commission has proposed additional text-blocking options, such as extending blocking requirements to include originating providers and immediate downstream providers. The Commission also encourages mobile wireless providers to make email-to-text an opt-in service, giving consumers more control over the messages they receive.
While the TCPA helps mitigate the issue of political text messages, the nature of campaigning and the protection of political speech pose challenges. Campaigns view extensive contact lists as valuable assets, leading to a barrage of messages that consumers find burdensome and annoying. Additionally, political messages are exempt from certain commercial sender regulations, and there is hesitation to implement restrictions due to the high regard for political speech in the United States. As a result, consumers may feel inundated with political text messages they cannot easily avoid or unsubscribe from.
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Political robocalls and robotexts
Political campaigns have been increasingly relying on free or low-cost mediums such as emails, social media, phone calls, and text messages to reach voters and potential donors. This has resulted in voters being inundated with political robocalls, robotexts, and email spam. While there is no federal law prohibiting candidates from sending voters texts and emails, there are ways to opt out of such communication.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates robocalls, and the onus is on the receiver to report political robocalls that violate the rules. For calls and texts that require consent, the caller must honor the recipient's request to revoke consent at any time and in any reasonable manner, such as replying "stop" to a text.
Political campaigns must also comply with the CAN-SPAM Act when sending emails. This includes providing a clear and conspicuous identification of the email as an advertisement or solicitation, a valid physical postal address, truthful and non-deceptive subject lines, and an opt-out mechanism for recipients. Non-compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act can lead to severe penalties and fines.
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Political email lists and spam filters
Political campaigns have been increasingly relying on free or low-cost mediums such as emails, social media, phone calls, and text messages to reach voters and potential donors. As a result, many people are inundated with political spam messages that they cannot opt out of or avoid.
While commercial spam is federally regulated by the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, which includes political campaigns, it does not apply to non-commercial senders, including political messages. This is because political speech is highly protected in the United States, and Congress has been hesitant to take any actions curtailing campaign speech.
However, this does not mean that political email lists are entirely exempt from spam filters. Many email providers, such as Gmail, have spam filters that can catch political emails, and most providers allow users to block or mark certain senders as spam. Additionally, Google has considered a pilot program that would allow authorized political committees to bypass spam filters but would require them to include a "one-click unsubscribe" button in their emails.
To block political emails, users can utilize Gmail filters, Block Sender, or other email blocking tools. They can also unsubscribe from political mailing lists directly, although this may not always be effective. Another strategy is to consistently mark unwanted political emails as "spam," which can train email services to recognize the pattern and automatically relocate such messages to the spam folder.
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Opting out of political spam
Political campaigns are exempt from the National Do Not Call Registry requirements, and political emails are not required to provide an opt-out option. However, there are still some ways to reduce the number of political spam messages you receive.
Opting Out of Political Email Spam
Although political emails are not required to provide an opt-out option, the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 does apply to political campaigns. This law sets standards for commercial services using email, including requiring companies to provide recipients with a way to opt out of the email list. Therefore, political campaigns that use similar mass-emailing services should also provide an option to unsubscribe from their mailing list.
Opting Out of Political Text Spam
To opt out of political text spam, you can reply with the keyword "STOP", "ENDALL", or "CANCEL". Most legitimate political text campaigns will recognize these keywords and remove you from their contact list. If this does not work, you can also try blocking the number and reporting the text as spam. Additionally, you can change your phone settings to filter out all unknown senders, although this may cause you to miss desired text messages, such as appointment reminders.
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Frequently asked questions
The CAN-SPAM Act, enacted in 2003, sets rules for commercial email messages and gives recipients the right to stop receiving emails. Political campaigns must comply with this act by providing an opt-out mechanism. If you no longer wish to receive campaign emails, you can contact the campaign and ask to be removed from their list.
Political campaigns are exempt from the National Do Not Call Registry requirements. However, they must follow the rules outlined in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). This act allows campaigns to send text messages without prior consent if they manually dial the recipient's number. If you are receiving unwanted text messages from a campaign, you can ask to be removed from their list.
Political robocalls to landlines do not require prior consent and are limited to no more than three calls within any consecutive 30-day period. However, robocalls and automated text messages to mobile phones generally require prior consent. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates robocalls, and recipients can report violations.
