Why is legal compliance important?
GetResponse adds your business address to the default email footer (see below) to comply with legal regulations of the CAN-SPAM Act.
To avoid being classified as spam by major Internet service providers (ISP), your newsletter needs to meet a number of legal requirements. To help you meet them, we as your email service provider (ESP) have defined some default specifications that your account and campaigns need to comply with.
If your newsletter is considered spam, it immediately affects your deliverability and brand reputation, and it’s quite hard to win them back.
By enforcing the most important legal requirements, we establish and maintain good relationships with all major ISPs. In consequence, this increases customer email deliverability, builds subscriber trust and improves brand image.
Our legal requirements correspond with the legal requirements that are binding all over the world. However, some countries have their own additional legal policies that you need to know when addressing recipients in a particular region.
Requirements for all GetResponse accounts
- In order to send emails from GetResponse, you must register an account on the GetResponse platform and accept the GetResponse Terms of Service, and in the case of the MAX service – the GetResponse MAX Terms of Service.
- To complete your account activation, you must provide your full postal address in account settings.
- This address is used in the default footer, which is required to be included in every newsletter sent from your account.
- This default footer also includes a required unsubscribe link.
- GetResponse verifies the email address that you use in the “reply to” field.
- Be aware that it is illegal to falsify your contact information or information in your subject line.
- Your newsletters need to comply with, among others, the U.S. CAN-SPAM Act. Failure to meet the requirements may result in legal liability. Therefore, we recommend familiarizing yourself with the regulations and ensuring that no message violates the applicable provisions.
- Remember that each country may have additional regulations governing the sending of messages, particularly in the country of residence of your subscribers. The responsibility for understanding and complying with these regulations rests with the account owner.
Foreign anti-spam laws and regulations
Here is a list of some legal acts to help you access and acquaint yourself with the most important anti-spam regulations in countries you might be sending to.
Australia
Spam Act 2003, Act No. 129 of 2003 as amended
Canada- C-28
Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) which amends the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act, the Competition Act, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and the Telecommunications Act.
The Directive is implemented by each member state independently, so you should check the laws of your particular country for more details.
United Kingdom (UK)
The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations
Estonia
Information Society Service Act
Poland
Electronic Communications Law
Act on the Provision of Electronic Services
France
CNIL Guidelines on email marketing.
Italy
Pay attention to the Personal Data Protection Code.
Germany
Pay attention to the German law on combating unfair competition, the Penal Code, the Information Society Services Act, and the German Data Protection Act.
Netherlands
Pay attention to the Telecommunications Act and the Dutch Data Protection Act.
Sweden
Pay attention to the Swedish Marketing Act and the Swedish Data Protection Act.
