I received the following question today in email: “I viewed the recent presentation on CAN-SPAM updates and opt-out handling. What rules govern the ability to say a contact has ‘opted-in’?”
CAN-SPAM doesn’t define the term “opt-in.” But it does
define affirmative consent. For what you’re looking for, consider them
equal.
The CAN-SPAM Act defines affirmative consent thusly:
AFFIRMATIVE CONSENT -- The term "affirmative consent", when used with respect to a commercial electronic mail message, means that— (A) the recipient expressly consented to receive the message, either in response to a clear and conspicuous request for such consent or at the recipient's own initiative; and (B) if the message is from a party other than the party to which the recipient communicated such consent, the recipient was given clear and conspicuous notice at the time the consent was communicated that the recipient's electronic mail address could be transferred to such other party for the purpose of initiating commercial electronic mail messages.
Additionally, ExactTarget requires that any use of our systems comply with our anti-spam policies, which further describe what we consider to be opt-in. This information can be found here.
What does all of this mean? It means they're opt-in when they choose to sign up to receive emails from you of their own accord, or when you ask them for permission (as an example, by way of an opt-in/opt-out checkbox during an online registration or online store check-out form). People who didn't choose to receive emails from you are not opt-in.
If you have any questions about whether or not a specific process is opt-in, please contact the Deliverability Services team, and we will be happy to assist.
