Businesses in NZ Cautioned of Violating Anti-spam Acts

According to a recent warning by the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), New Zealand, enterprises endorsing or marketing their services through electronic mails whose IDs are purchased from firms supplying databases could be breaching the country's legislations prohibiting spam.

The DIA is probing eight companies, which have been promoting or marketing products after buying and using the e-mail IDs obtained from the same firm. In New Zealand, the Unsolicited Electronic Messages (UEM) Act bans spam mails with commercial intent, MMS and SMS i.e. image and text-based cell-phone messaging, and instant messaging.

Steve O'Brien, Manager of Ant-spam Compliance, said that earlier the DIA had cautioned about the dangers involved in utilizing procured addresses. Besides, it had understood that a few enterprises might have wrongly perceived recipients' permission for accepting business e-mails. But now plenty of complaints are coming to the DIA, O'Brien reveals, as reported by NZHerald on June 30, 2010.

O'Brien further explained that if an e-mail ID existed in a database and in a classified form as well as was possible to buy it didn't necessarily imply that there was an accompanying consent. When someone sent an SMS text or commercial e-mail, he alone had to prove that the recipient's permission existed, not the entity who sold the database, he added.

According to the UEM Act, recipient's permission exists when an individual holding official or business status conspicuously publishes an e-mail ID. Moreover, it shouldn't be having an added statement asking not to send unsolicited e-mails to that ID. The e-mail sent should be relevant to the individual's profession, function, role or responsibilities in an official or business position.

In cases where a sender of a commercial e-mail fails in convincing the DIA about the recipient's permission, it amounts to an infringement of the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act.

Meanwhile, O'Brien stated that the Act penalizes in various forms, including warnings in writing, notifications of infringements to financial penalties.

To lessen the distribution of junk e-mails which may arise out of marketers' promotional tactics, New Zealand brought into force its anti-spam legislations during 2007.

Related article: Businesses Asked To Shoulder Security Of Online Transactions

» SPAMfighter News - 7/10/2010