The Federal Trade Commission Act is codified under 15 U.S.C. 41-58, and regulated all types of marketing and advertising. The established duties of the FTC are to prevent unfair competition and practices, create remedies for consumers, and conduct investigations. The FTC creates guidelines for both online and offline businesses.

Salar Atrizadeh, Esq. is the principal and founder of the Law Offices of Salar Atrizadeh. He is licensed to practice law in the State of California, District of Columbia, and the United States District and Bankruptcy Courts. He has an extensive background in technology and holds a bachelor’s of science degree in computer information systems with a minor in database management systems.

In the CLE class clip, Salar discusses Federal Trade Commission Act & CAN-SPAM Act of 2003.

Watch the Full E-Commerce Law and Online Privacy Law CLE Class

Guidelines are posted on the Federal Trade Commission’s website to help businesses navigate through ecommerce issues. To date, 29 countries have signed onto the guidelines, including the United States, Canada, and Japan. The guidelines sets principles for code of conduct for ecommerce businesses, and gives guidance to governments in reviewing their ecommerce consumer protection laws. Additionally, the guidelines give consumers advice as to what to expect, or look for, when participating in ecommerce.

The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, sets standards for email marketing and covers all commercial messages.
The main requirements are:

• No false or misleading header
• No deceptive subject lines
• Clear and conspicuous disclosure that the message is an advertisement
• Location ( i.e., valid mailing address)
• Opt-out option
• Honoring opt-out request
• If another company handles your email marketing, you are required to monitor its activities