The Direct Marketing Association has approved new guidelines for appending e-mail addresses to consumer records, the group announced at its Net.marketing conference in New York on Tuesday.
The guidelines must be followed as a condition of membership in the DMA. Unresolved violations place companies at risk of expulsion and negative publicity, according to a statement.
Under the rules, a marketer should not append or add a consumer’s e-mail address to its database unless the consumer gives the marketer permission to do so.
There are three other conditions under which it would also be permissible to append an e-mail. One is if there is an established business relationship with the consumer either online or offline.
Another acceptable condition is if the data used in the append process came from sources that provided notice and choice about receiving third-party e-mail offers, and the consumer did not opt out.
A third condition is if reasonable efforts are taken to ensure the appending of accurate e-mail addresses to the corresponding consumer records.
Under the guidelines, marketers are not allowed to sell, rent, transfer or exchange an appended e-mail unless the consumer is given notice and choice about the action the marketer plans to take.
All messages to an e-mail appended address should include notice and choice.
Finally, marketers are required to keep appropriate records that show they are in compliance with the guidelines.
