Email Marketing in 2025 - Debunking Myths and Discussing the Increased Risks under Federal and State Laws

Nov 4, 2026

Slide deck analyzing the CAN-SPAM Act and related state law considerations for commercial email marketing in 2025. It explains CAN-SPAM’s purpose and key prohibitions, clarifies common misconceptions about opt-in consent, and distinguishes commercial versus transactional or relationship emails by primary purpose. The presentation outlines requirements for headers, subject lines, transparency, opt-out handling, and sender contact details, and describes prohibited and commonly challenged practices. It also addresses the myth that CAN-SPAM creates a private right of action.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLetters

FormatPDF

Pages42

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

CAN-SPAM Overview

Fact or Myth? Companies Must Have Affirmative, Opt-in Consent

MYTH: CAN-SPAM’s Regulation of Commercial Emails

Navigating the Line: Commercial or Transactional?

Requirements for Commercial Emails

Prohibited Email Practices Explained

What Is Header Information?

Fact or Myth? CAN-SPAM Does Not Provide a Private Right of Action

Email Marketing in 2025: Debunking Myths and Discussing the Increased Risks under Federal and State Laws Shahin O. Rothermel Partner | +1 [202.344.4550 | sorothermel@Venable.com](202.344.4550 | sorothermel@Venable.com) Ari N. Rothman Partner | +1 [310.229.9909 | anrothman@Venable.com](310.229.9909 | anrothman@Venable.com) Jasmine Vidaurri Martinez Attorney | +1 [202.344.4249 | jvmartinez@Venable.com](202.344.4249 | jvmartinez@Venable.com) Applicable Federal Law: CAN-SPAM Act © 2025 / Confidential / Slide 2 CAN-SPAM Overview Congress enacted the CAN-SPAM Act in 2003 to establish uniform national standards for email marketing. The Act creates a comprehensive framework that eliminates inconsistent state regulations across jurisdictions. The Act creates a comprehensive framework that provides clear guidelines for commercial email practices. The Act specifically prohibits the transmission of emails containing materially false or misleading headers, deceptive subject lines, and misleading content about the message’s purpose. CAN-SPAM’s narrow preemption clause preserves state statutes that specifically prohibit material falsity or deception in commercial email. © 2025 / Confidential / Slide 3 Fact or Myth? Companies Must Have Affirmative, Opt-in Consent to Send Marketing Emails. © 2025 / Confidential / Slide 4 MYTH: CAN-SPAM’s Regulation of Commercial Emails • CAN-SPAM regulates commercial emails. • CAN-SPAM allows direct marketing email messages to be sent to anyone, without permission, until the recipient explicitly requests that they stop (opt-out) . • It does not ban sending unsolicited commercial emails. © 2025 / Confidential / Slide 5 Navigating the Line: Is the Email Commercial or Transactional? Commercial email: Primary Purpose • Promotes a commercial product or service. • Includes website content operated for commercial purposes. Transactional or Relationship email: Primary Purpose ◦ Facilitates, completes, or confirms a commercial transaction. ◦ Provides warranty, recall, safety, or security information related to a product or service. ◦ Notifies recipients of changes to Terms of Service. ◦ Notifies recipients of changes in consumer’s standing, status, or account information regarding: ▫ Product or service updates; ▫ Delivery of goods or services; ▫ Subscriptions, memberships, or accounts; ▫ Loans or employment relationships; and ▫ Benefit plans. © 2025 / Confidential / Slide 6 Requirements for Commercial Emails • Header Information: No false or misleading header information. • Subject Lines: No deceptive subject lines. • Transparency: Clearly indicate commercial nature of message. ◦ Identify the message as an advertisement. ◦ Note: “ADV” or “ADVERTISEMENT” is not required. • Opt-Out: Include a clear and conspicuous opt-out method. ◦ Must remain operational for a minimum of 30 days; and ◦ Must honor the opt-out request in 10 business days. • Contact Details: Include sender’s valid physical postal address. • Consent: Subsequent emails can be sent only if the recipient has given affirmative consent. © 2025 / Confidential / Slide 7 Prohibited Email Practices Explained Prohibited Practices: • False or misleading header information. • Deceptive subject lines. Commonly Challenged Email Practices: • Unregistered domain names. • False or proxy registered domain names. • Misleading sender names or false identities in the “from” name. • Name of a person/entity that is unavailable to response in the “from” name. • Subject lines that would mislead a reasonable recipient about a material fact concerning the email’s contents or subject matter. • Subject lines that imply a prior relationship if none exists. © 2025 / Confidential / Slide 8 What Is Header Information? • Header information includes the source, destination, and routing details of an email, such as: • Originating domain name; • Originat

FAQs

Does CAN-SPAM require affirmative opt-in consent to send marketing emails?

No. The deck explains that CAN-SPAM allows sending commercial marketing emails to anyone without permission until the recipient explicitly requests they stop (opt-out).

How does CAN-SPAM distinguish commercial email from transactional or relationship email?

The distinction is based on primary purpose: commercial emails promote a product or service, while transactional/relationship emails facilitate, confirm, or provide information about transactions, warranties, changes to Terms of Service, and certain account or status updates.

What are the key requirements for commercial emails under the CAN-SPAM framework?

Commercial emails must have no false or misleading header information and no deceptive subject lines, must clearly indicate the message is an advertisement, must include a clear and conspicuous opt-out method that remains operational for at least 30 days and is honored within 10 business days, and must include the sender’s valid physical postal address.

Nov 4, 2026

Uploaded by Olivia Brown