A U.S. federal law establishing requirements for commercial email, including mandatory accurate sender information, a clear and functioning unsubscribe mechanism, and honoring opt-out requests within a defined timeframe.
Why it matters
CAN-SPAM compliance is a legal requirement, not a best practice — violations can carry real financial penalties per email, and the law applies to any commercial email sent to U.S. recipients, regardless of where the sending company is based.
In a sentence
"We audited every email template to make sure the unsubscribe link and physical mailing address were present and functioning, as required under CAN-SPAM."
Related terms
- Often confused with: GDPR (CAN-SPAM is a U.S. federal law specifically governing commercial email; GDPR is a European Union regulation covering the much broader category of personal data protection generally, of which email marketing is only one part).