Experian and MAPS Settle
Experian eMarketing has reached a settlement with the Mail Abuse Prevention System (MAPS).
According to the terms of the agreement, Experian will not be forced to employ MAPS standard of double opt-in for its e-mail marketing. And both companies are prohibited from taking action against one another without the court’s permission, which means that MAPS is restricted from listing Experian again on its Realtime Blackhole list of alleged spammers without a court order.
“The real point here is that we have won the ability to force MAPS, through the court system, to not just arbitrarily put us on its list [of alleged spammers],” said Tom Detmer, president of Experian eMarketing Services, formerly Exactis.com. “There is a procedure in place. This is very strong protection for us.”
MAPS, an anti-spam group based in Redwood City, CA, maintains a list of the Internet protocol addresses of those it deems spammers, particularly those that do not adhere to its standard of double opt-in for e-mail marketing. The list, called the Realtime Blackhole List, is monitored by numerous Internet service providers that block mail to those listed. A listing can cripple a company’s e-mail marketing efforts.
In November 2000, MAPS identified Exactis as a spammer for not using a double out-in in its e-mail marketing. MAPS listed 150 of the firm’s outgoing mail servers on the RBL. And while Exactis quickly obtained a temporary restraining order and was removed from the RBL, the company’s mail was blocked for three days and several clients defected, Detmer said.
Exactis filed a lawsuit against MAPS in December 2000 in the U.S. Federal District Court in Denver. The company said it may also have been hurt over the last 11 months as prospective clients, concerned about their own e-mail delivery in light of the ongoing litigation with MAPS, shied away from using its e-mail marketing services.
Experian agreed, as part of the settlement, to only deliver e-mails for which clients had obtained the addressee’s permission, Anne P. Mitchell, MAPS’ director of legal and public affairs said in a statement.
“They have further committed to address and resolve any complaints and concerns which may arise as a result of any mailings they do for either themselves or their clients,” she said.
However, Mitchell acknowledged that “neither side can take any action against the other without the permission of the court and there are substantial penalties provided for a breach of the agreement,” she said.
Detmer said that Experian eMarketing is a permission-based company that employs single or verified opt-in methods depending on client preference and offers an opt-out mechanism on all e-mails.
“Both sides had to compromise quite a bit to reach this settlement,” Mitchell added. “Even though [Experian] hasn’t gone as far as insisting that their clients use fully-verified opt-in, which they admit we advocate as the best means for avoiding unsolicited e-mail, they have made several changes to ensure that only those who want to receive their e-mail receive it, and to respond to concerns from those who don’t.”
According to court documents filed at the time, Exactis claimed that the actions by MAPS would “severely” damage its business and injure its clients. Some 40% of its e-mail transmissions were blocked and the company estimated it would lose $1.5 million in monthly revenue, the paper said.
Mitchell added that even though a settlement was reached, MAPS can continue to promote the rejection of mail from Experian. “And, of course, we are still free to choose to accept or reject e-mail from them on our own personal networks,” she said.
MAPS has long come under fire by the e-mail marketing community for its procedures in determining which Internet protocol addresses it lists on the RBL. Many claim the procedures are arbitrary and not standardized. MAPS has staunchly defended its policies.
Experian eMarketing has about 85 clients and sends over 250 million e-mail messages per month on average, Detmer said.
