email spam can-spam-act-of-2003
Can we use client email addresses for marketing?
<p>I work in a small design agency and we are launching a new product soon. What laws govern our ability to email our past clients about this news?</p>

<p>When we work with clients we don't ask for their permission to add them to our contacts list, it's just regular work communication.</p>

<p>If you are conducting business in the U.S. then you need to comply with the CAN-SPAM Act.  The FTC enforces that law, and offers <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business" rel="nofollow noreferrer">extensive rules and guidance</a>.  Key excerpts from the FTC guidance page:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Despite its name, the CAN-SPAM Act doesn’t apply just to bulk email.
  It covers all commercial messages, which the law defines as “any
  electronic mail message the primary purpose of which is the commercial
  advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service,”
  including email that promotes content on commercial websites. The law
  makes no exception for business-to-business email. That means all
  email – for example, a message to former customers announcing a new
  product line – must comply with the law.</p>
  
  <p>Each separate email in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act is subject to
  penalties of up to $16,000, so non-compliance can be costly. But
  following the law isn’t complicated. Here’s a rundown of CAN-SPAM’s
  main requirements:</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li><strong>Don’t use false or misleading header information.</strong> Your “From,” “To,”
  “Reply-To,” and routing information – including the originating domain
  name and email address – must be accurate and identify the person or
  business who initiated the message.</li>
  <li><strong>Don’t use deceptive subject lines.</strong>
  The subject line must accurately reflect the content of the message.</li>
  <li><strong>Identify the message as an ad.</strong> The law gives you a lot of leeway in
  how to do this, but you must disclose clearly and conspicuously that
  your message is an advertisement.</li>
  <li><strong>Tell recipients where you’re located.</strong> Your message must include your valid physical postal address.
  This can be your current street address, a post office box you’ve
  registered with the U.S. Postal Service, or a private mailbox you’ve
  registered with a commercial mail receiving agency established under
  Postal Service regulations.</li>
  <li><strong>Tell recipients how to opt out of receiving future email from you.</strong> Your message must include a clear and
  conspicuous explanation of how the recipient can opt out of getting
  email from you in the future. Craft the notice in a way that’s easy
  for an ordinary person to recognize, read, and understand. Creative
  use of type size, color, and location can improve clarity. Give a
  return email address or another easy Internet-based way to allow
  people to communicate their choice to you. You may create a menu to
  allow a recipient to opt out of certain types of messages, but you
  must include the option to stop all commercial messages from you. Make
  sure your spam filter doesn’t block these opt-out requests.</li>
  <li><strong>Honor opt-out requests promptly.</strong> Any opt-out mechanism you offer must be
  able to process opt-out requests for at least 30 days after you send
  your message. You must honor a recipient’s opt-out request within 10
  business days. You can’t charge a fee, require the recipient to give
  you any personally identifying information beyond an email address, or
  make the recipient take any step other than sending a reply email or
  visiting a single page on an Internet website as a condition for
  honoring an opt-out request. Once people have told you they don’t want
  to receive more messages from you, you can’t sell or transfer their
  email addresses, even in the form of a mailing list. The only
  exception is that you may transfer the addresses to a company you’ve
  hired to help you comply with the CAN-SPAM Act.</li>
  <li><strong>Monitor what others are doing on your behalf.</strong> The law makes clear that even if you hire
  another company to handle your email marketing, you can’t contract
  away your legal responsibility to comply with the law. Both the
  company whose product is promoted in the message and the company that
  actually sends the message may be held legally responsible.</li>
  </ol>
</blockquote>
