Email Suppression List Management - Email Opt Out - CAN SPAM Compliance

Suppression list management is the method in which an advertiser or network collects and distributes opt-out requests from and to their media partners in the interest of compliance. It is the responsibility of networks, advertisers and publishers to effectively manage and distribute suppression lists, assuring that all opt-out requests are honored within the ten day time frame that the law allows. This means that you must continually update your suppression file, both internal opt-outs and those generated by third parties, and share them with any media partners on a regular basis to ensure that recent opt-outs are provided before your media partners proceed with a mailing. Failure to honor a request within the ten day time frame can result in a judgment against you for “Failure to Honor” one of the tenants of CAN-SPAM. UnsubCentral stays well versed in CAN-SPAM and Privacy legislation, for more information visit the Federal Trade Commission

Opt –Out, also known as an "unsubscribe," is a term marketers use for methods that allow consumers to deny receiving unsolicited communications through a variety of marketing mediums including email. The opt-out option is typically included in the bottom of an email and gives the receiving party the ability to “opt out” and not receive information from the advertiser. It is then the advertisers responsibility to collect and securely manage opt-outs in a suppression file. Under the CAN-SPAM Act, every commercial email transaction must include an opt-out link that is clear and easy for the consumer to follow.

The Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing Act of 2003 (CAN-SPAM), gives the FTC the ability to act on commercial email marketers who send unsolicited mail to a user's inbox. One of CAN-SPAM's more difficult components makes the advertisers responsible, and ultimately liable, for honoring unsubscribes on any mailing campaigns conducted by third parties on their behalf. Thus, an advertiser's list of users that cannot be emailed, also known as a suppression list, is a vital part of email marketing. There have been revisions to the law since the original act was passed, the latest was in July of last year, and it added language to provide some “definition of sender” allowances so that the advertiser is not always held liable –in cases where the sender has blatantly, and without the advertiser's knowledge changed an approved message for example. UnsubCentral stays well versed in CAN-SPAM and Privacy legislation, for more information visit the Federal Trade Commission.

MD5 is as a one-way hashing solution for suppression list distribution to protect the identity of consumers.  Advertisers can use MD5 to obfuscate their suppression or “opt-out” lists before sending to third parties.  Third parties then do the same to their mailing list and compare the MD5 hashes in their list against the MD5 hashes in the suppression file.  If a match is found, the mailer removes the corresponding email address in their list. 

MD5 cannot be “decrypted,” meaning an email address that is hashed, is only ever available as a hash.  Therefore, no physical email addresses are compromised and consumer data is protected.