Group Opposes Do-Not-E-Mail Registry

By: Ann M. Mack (Adweek) The Association of National Advertisers has urged the Federal Trade Commission to recommend against the adoption of a do-not-e-mail list in an upcoming report to Congress.

Under the CAN-Spam Act of 2003, the FTC was directed to report to Congress this spring on the feasibility of a do-not-spam registry, similar to the national do-not-call list intended to shield consumers from unwanted telemarketing solicitations by telephone.

The ANA argues that such a registry would not solve the spam problem, but would add new costs and burdens to legitimate marketers. In a letter to Donald Clark in the office of the secretary for the FTC, ANA Executive Vice President Dan Jaffe wrote, "Spammers are sophisticated criminals. They will never comply with a do-not-e-mail registry, so it would not reduce the spam that consumers find objectionable."

The letter also stated that the registry would create new security and privacy risks for consumers. Such a list would "truly be the 'Fort Knox' list of e-mail addresses for a criminal spammer," Jaffe pointed out. "The government would have to invest extraordinary resources to develop and maintain security for such a registry."

In addition to the ANA, the Direct Marketing Association and American Association of Advertising Agencies have raised concerns over a do-not-e-mail registry, arguing that it would impede the growth of legitimate e-mail marketing, which according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data, represents 12% of today's $138 billion Internet commerce marketplace.