Largest U.S. Advertising & Marketing Trade Groups Urge Congress to Pass National Spam Law.

The American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA), the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), and the Direct Marketing Association (The DMA) today in an open letter published in the Roll Call newspaper urged Congress to immediately pass national anti-spam legislation.

The open letter underscores an increased collaboration among the three groups to curb the growing spam epidemic and protect legitimate commercial e-mail communication. Last month, the AAAA, ANA and the DMA released a set of practices for businesses that defend and enhance the viability of legitimate e-mail marketing. These practices can be found at http://www.ana.net/govt/what/10_14_03.cfm

The full text of open letter to Congress follows, as it appeared in Roll Call:

Congress, Pass National Anti-Spam Legislation NOW or E-commerce Will Be Crippled!

Members of the 108th Congress,

Spam is a serious and complicated problem. It requires a national solution to protect the national marketplace. We, the representatives of small, medium and large businesses across the United States – trusted household names, today urge you to pass the CAN-SPAM Act (S. 877) or the Reduction in Distribution of Spam Act (H.R. 2214) NOW. Immediate action is required to go after the bad guys on spam and avert a crisis that will bring legitimate electronic commerce to a screeching halt.

Thirty-seven inconsistent state spam laws and proposals for a do-not-e-mail list or labeling represent a knee-jerk reaction to the spam crisis. These approaches do nothing to reduce the intrusion of spam piling up in consumers’ inboxes. What’s worse, they mandate inconsistent standards that make compliance by honest businesses extraordinarily burdensome.

If Congress fails to act, commercial e-mail communication—a promising vehicle for conducting commerce—will be severely injured. Based on the latest U.S. Census Bureau data, some 12% of the current $138 billion Internet commerce marketplace is driven by legitimate commercial e-mail. This translates into a minimum $17.5 billion spent in response to commercial e-mails in 2003 for bedrock goods and services such as travel, hotels, entertainment, books, and clothing.

If Congress fails to act:

Consumers and the media will be severely impacted: A new state spam law, effective this January 1, will in effect make it illegal for major news organizations to send advertising-supported e-mail newsletters;

Large and small businesses will be socked with major legal bills as frivolous and wasteful lawsuits continue to soar: In Utah, for example, fully one-third of all suits filed using that state’s anti-spam statutes have been dismissed because the defendants were not the parties responsible for sending spam;

Inconsistent state laws will severely impact legitimate commercial e-mail communications: Unlike other forms of legitimate commercial communications, e-mail cannot be tailored to avoid state boundaries. Honest businesses cannot possibly comply with all of the laws now on the books. Even minor inconsistencies pose substantial risk to honest businesses, which face large penalties and the threat of class action lawsuits if they violate any state law.
Our members represent virtually every business segment in the United States. We urge you to pass legislation that will clearly distinguish acceptable commercial e-mail from unlawful spam, and impose stiff criminal penalties on those who fall on the wrong side of the law. This will crack down with enhanced national enforcement authority on the criminals who threaten to wholly undermine the utility of the Internet for consumers and businesses alike, while protecting legitimate e-commerce and its associated jobs.

Sincerely,

O. Burtch Drake
President, CEO, American Association of Advertising Agencies

Robert Liodice
President, CEO, Association of National Advertisers

H. Robert Wientzen
President, CEO, The Direct Marketing Association