Ounce of Prevention better than a Pound of SPAM

Five step guide to SPAM compliance. The peak body for the ICT Industry, the Australian Computer Society (ACS), today released 5 simple steps on how Australian business can become SPAM Act compliant.

Wednesday 7 April 2004 - The peak body for the ICT Industry, the ACS (Australian Computer Society), today released 5 simple steps on how Australian business can become SPAM Act compliant.

“We all remember spending time and money trying to comply with the Privacy Act when it was enacted in 2001,’ said ACS President Edward Mandla. “Liability for breaches of the SPAM Act rests with the employer and those who are in breach can face fines of up to $220,000. It’s important for all Australian businesses to take steps to protect themselves not only from SPAM, but also from contravening the SPAM Act.”

The ACS has assembled a team of legal and ICT industry experts to provide simple, cost-effective guidelines on how you can quickly comply with the new SPAM legislation.

One of the principal ACS recommendations is for businesses to confirm permission with potential email recipients - rather than leaving any ambiguity around whether consent has been granted or whether the message is factual or commercial.

ACS Vice President Philip Argy, a senior partner with prominent law firm, Mallesons Stephen Jaques, said organisations would need to amend their business agreements to allow for email communications, or risk operating outside the law.

“Although the legislation does suggest that consent can be inferred from conduct and relationships, it is better for companies to clarify the issue of permission rather than leave it in doubt,” he said.

The term Spam, as defined by the Spam Act, is any commercial electronic message sent without consent. The term “electronic messaging” includes email, SMS text messages and MMS (Multimedia Message Services). (Faxes are to be exempted by regulation, but would otherwise have been covered.)

Five important steps to SPAM compliance:

To ensure compliance with the SPAM Act, the ACS recommends corporate Internet policies be upgraded as follows:

1. GET PERMISSION IN THE FIRST INSTANCE
When contacting any external person or organisation for the first time for promotional purposes, either send a preliminary email seeking consent to receiving promotional emails, or consider using conventional communication methods such as; phone, fax or “snail” mail.

2. COMPLY WITH THE PRIVACY ACT

The SPAM Act complements the Privacy Act, so continued compliance with the Privacy Act is mandatory. Remember that you cannot collect people’s personal particulars, including email address, without their consent and even then the information can only be used for an agreed purpose. (If an individual gives you their business card, there is implied consent that contact via the means listed on the business card is permitted.)

3. ALWAYS GIVE THE RECIPIENT AN OUT

Use should be made of signature or suffix functions in email applications to attach contact details automatically to all outgoing email.

The ACS recommends the following postscript;

"If you do not wish to receive further emails from me please reply with “Unsubscribe” in the Subject.”

4. IF YOUR EMAIL IS ON THE WEB, SAY “NO SPAM”

When email addresses are conspicuously displayed on a web-site, consider adding a “no spam” tag to deter other parties from inferring your consent to receiving unsolicited email.

5. IF THEY DON’T HAVE IT, THEY CAN’T USE IT

Consider whether you really want to include email addresses on business cards, as this will typically imply your consent.

Who is exempt from the SPAM Act?

There are certain groups who are permitted to send commercial electronic messages without consent: Charities, Religious Groups, Governments, Political Parties, Educational Institutions. Charities have seen the legislation as a potential fund-raising stream, as a non-exempt organisation, one which is covered under the SPAM Act, can finance an exempt organisation’s email distribution (eg charity) and receive brand recognition on that exempt organisation’s email.

The legislation also allows for “sponsored” messages. A message does not lose its “purely factual” (and therefore exempt) status by reason only of the inclusion of the name, logo and details of a sponsor of that message.

According to Cliff Rosenberg, Managing Director Yahoo! Australia & NZ, the SPAM Act is something Yahoo! has been focused on for the past 12 months.

“Yahoo’s commitment to the abolition of SPAM is two-fold. Firstly, we are arming our own email customers with the necessary tools and information they need to protect themselves against SPAM. Secondly, Yahoo! understands the importance of education and is supporting the guidelines as set out by the ACS by creating an online Anti-SPAM education centre.”

These are preliminary guidelines for compliance, as the SPAM Act prohibitions take effect on Easter Sunday. So don’t be a bunny! Explore the software options and legal advice that pertains to your industry.

Background:
The Industry Experts who advised the ACS include:

Clifford Rosenberg
Managing Director
Yahoo! Australia & NZ

Darryl Warren
Chief Information Officer
Lion Nathan

Philip Argy
Senior Partner

Peter Hind
Industry Analyst

Mallesons Stephen Jaques
National Vice President - ACS

Tom Worthington
Publications Board Director
Australian Computer Society

Dennis Furini
CEO
Australian Computer Society

Chy Chuawiwat
Clearswift

This media release is available on the ACS Web site at http://www.acs.org.au/news/070404.htm

ENDS

The ACS (Australian Computer Society) is the recognised professional association for those working in Information and Communications Technology, seeking to raise the standing of ICT professionals and represent their views to government, industry and the community. A member of the Australian Council of Professions, the ACS is the guardian of professional ethics and standards in the ICT sector, committed to ensuring the beneficial use of ICT for all Australians. It provides both members and non-members with opportunities for professional education, networking and certification, as well as enabling them to contribute to the development of their profession. Visit www.acs.org.au for more information. ACS - ICT Professionals Shaping our Future.

For further information please contact:
Antonia O’Neill 8257 1740 or 0417 252 805
Fleur Brown 8257 1741 or 0419 270 863