HELO RCPT TO QUIT MAIL FROM DATA - Federal Trade Commission

Concurring Statement of Commissioner Pamela Jones Harbour
Concurring Statement of Commissioner Pamela Jones Harbour
In Re: CAN SPAM Subject Line Labeling Report
I concur in the release of the Commission’s report to Congress concerning subject line
labeling, submitted pursuant to Section 11(2) of the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited
Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003 (the “CAN-SPAM Act”), 15 U.S.C. § 7710(2) (2003)
(the “Report”). I write separately to highlight the potential usefulness of “ADV labeling” to
assist consumers in managing unsolicited commercial email (“UCE”).
I agree with Commissioner Leibowitz’s separate statement that “an ADV labeling
requirement could be a modest tool to empower consumers to filter and sort commercial emails
– to read them later, evaluate them individually, or delete them in bulk if they choose.” I also
agree that Congress asked the Commission to study an ADV labeling requirement precisely
because Congress wanted consumers to have the option not to receive or to sort UCE – even
emails sent from legitimate marketers.
I, like Commissioner Leibowitz, would have preferred that the Report further emphasize
the importance of providing adequate tools to enable consumers, who so wish, to filter UCE,
even from legitimate marketers. One consumer’s public comment stated: “Treat my email as
if it were an extension of my phone, as it is, and do not call me if unsolicited.” (Gilliland, Mark
- Comment, 1). The desires of such consumers should be respected.
The Report does, however, set forth a number of technological options that consumers
can use to sort, delete, or block UCE. Examples include highly calibrated or customized
filters; “white-lists” of particular desired senders; personalized Bayesian filtering; and blocking
mechanisms that bar all email coming from sources outside of the consumer’s address book. If
consumers choose to avoid receiving UCE from legitimate marketers, it appears that existing
technological solutions will allow them to do so. While ADV labeling would provide consumers
with an easy way to sort UCEs from legitimate marketers who would adhere to an ADV labeling
requirement, it appears that consumers already have acceptable tools available to assist them.
Accordingly, I have decided to concur in the Commission’s release of this Report.
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