Businesses need to get ready for the Anti-Spam Act

Posted on 22/06/2007

Daniel Gilchrist

The Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act, which comes into force on 6 September 2007, brings with it a number of compliance issues for New Zealand businesses.

The Act, passed in March this year, aims to crack down on unsolicited emails and other electronic messages (spam) in New Zealand. There are estimates that spam makes up to 80 percent of worldwide email traffic. According to Communications Minister David Cunliffe, the Act will stop New Zealand from becoming a ‘safe haven’ for spammers.

The Act applies to all messages originating in, sent to or accessed from New Zealand, including messages sent to any email address ending in .nz or a telephone number beginning with the ‘64’ international access code.

The Act raises compliance issues for businesses that rely on commercial emails or other types of electronic message to advertise. It bans all unsolicited commercial electronic messages and will require businesses to seek consent from recipients before sending any unsolicited electronic messages. One way of achieving this, for example, would be to require visitors to your website to tick a box confirming their consent to receiving commercial electronic messages.

All subsequent electronic messages will need to include accurate identification and contact information for the sender and a functional and clear unsubscribe facility that allows recipients to opt out of receiving further messages. Businesses breaching these provisions could be liable for fines of up to $500,000.

The Act has been criticised for these additional compliance burdens, which may particularly impact on small businesses who market electronically. Critics also claim that the Act will have little actual impact on the volume of spam received by New Zealanders, as most spam is sent from overseas, making the Act difficult to enforce against foreign spammers.

The Act is a well-meaning attempt to establish a legislative framework upon which to address the problems spam poses for business and individuals. The reality, however, is that the Act will likely do little to reduce the amount of spam received by New Zealanders and will to some extent increase compliance costs for New Zealand businesses. The Act is not a replacement for spam filters or other technological protection measures, which remain a more effective means of stopping spam from reaching your inbox. Businesses will need to be careful to ensure compliance with the new provisions by 6 September 2007 if they do not wish to expose themselves to the risk of significant fines for breaching the Act.

If you would like further information or assistance in preparing your business for compliance with the Act, please contact a professional advisor at Baldwins.