Regeln für die Onlinekommunikation weltweit

In last month's column, I wrote about how the digital communications legal landscape is like the weather in New England - constantly changing. And while change is a constant, there are a few best practices marketers can adhere to in order to stay above the law in almost any region of the world. They are: achieve a high degree of marketing relevance; obtain explicit permission; provide transparent disclosure when gathering customer data; and let consumers control how they provide their data and how you use it. In this month's column, I will delve deeper into the changing legislation in the U.S., Canada, the European Union (EU), and Asia Pacific (APAC) - and how marketers can keep up with the constant changes.
United States
The CAN-SPAM Act, which went into effect in January 2004, provided the foundation for digital communications legislation in the U.S. as it applies to email marketing communications between brands and consumers. CAN-SPAM applies to all email being sent to or from the United States. An opt-out mechanism is required, but permission is not. CAN-SPAM doesn't apply to transactional messages. Spam remains a global problem, but most U.S. consumer brands and B2B marketers have complied above and beyond the law as required by CAN-SPAM, through self-regulation and automated compliance, as well as technology and counsel provided by their email service provider (ESP).
Nonetheless, a number of new legislative initiatives are in the works that focus on consumer privacy, data collection, and data use. The main thrust of all of these proposals is to give consumers more control over how their personal profile information is gathered, used, and shared by marketers. It's still too early to tell what the final legislative outcome will be, but marketers should be prepared for the following changes.