The Spam Control Act 2007, passed in Parliament yesterday, 12 April 2007, will provide this
framework as a means to address the still-growing and global phenomenon.
The law was developed by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA)
and the Attorney-General’s Chambers of Singapore (AGC), with inputs from the public,
people and private sectors, over the last three years.
1. The subject line and body of an electronic message must be in accordance with the Singapore Code of
Advertising Practice, ie they must be honest, clear, legal and decent.
2. A commercial electronic message must clearly identify the marketer and the subject matter at the
beginning of the message.
3. A valid return electronic address must be clearly identified in each commercial electronic message.
Commercial email messages must also clearly identify the physical address of the marketer, and
marketers are encouraged to use their company or brand names in their domain address and prominently
throughout their messages.
4. A bulk electronic message which is sent for primarily commercial purposes and which has neither been
requested nor consented to by the consumer must be clearly labeled as an advertisement or solicitation
by the inclusion of <ADV> followed by a space at the beginning of the subject field or, where there is no
subject field, at the beginning of the message.
5. All commercial electronic messages must provide consumers with a clear and conspicuous option, using
the same electronic method as the electronic message was sent, to be removed from lists used for future
commercial electronic messages from the marketer. The electronic remove feature must be easy to find,
easy to use, reliable, functional and prompt, and its effect must be to remove the recipient from all future
commercial emails from the marketer within 10 business days. While instructions for opting out can be in
other languages, there should be one version in English.
6. If a company sending commercial electronic messages has multiple distinct brands or affiliates, notice
and opt-out must be provided based on the likely perspective of the average consumer. Each separate
brand or affiliate, as the consumer is likely to perceive it, must offer notice and a process for removal from
marketing lists in their commercial electronic messages.
7. Marketers must not send commercial electronic messages to electronic addresses surreptitiously
acquired through automated mechanisms (such as robots or spiders) without the consumer’s consent.
Marketers must not send commercial electronic messages to electronic addresses acquired through
dictionary attacks or other mechanisms for fabricating electronic addresses without providing notice and
choice to the consumer.
8. Lists of electronic addresses, whether email addresses or phone numbers, should not be sold or provided
to unrelated third parties unless the owner of the list has provided notice and the ability to be removed
from such transfer to each address on the list. (Unrelated third parties are those companies and/or
entities that a reasonable consumer is likely to perceive as being distinct from the owner of the list.)
Marketers are encouraged to include in their marketing materials a statement regarding their adherence
to this policy.
9. A commercial electronic message sent via email should contain the marketer’s privacy policy, either
within the body of the email or via a link.
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