The Email Wars

One interesting issue is that it is in essence stating that there cannot be any barricades to removing yourself like needing a password to any other identifiable information other than your email address. So what does this mean to preference centers that are currently controlled inside of social media, news or community sites? I was thinking about all the sites I log into (is Facebook) in order to change my preferences. Will this be illegal under these new changes?

From one source:
Does the above mean that passwords will not be allowed as part of the unsubscribe process?

Yes. This provision is in direct response to some sites that would require you to login in order to process the unsub. The best example of this was something that a product group at Microsoft used to do: One of their divisions or products would send you unsolicited email and when you clicked to unsub, it would require you to put in your password.

Since you didn’t opt-in and didn’t have the password they were looking for, it would force you to register, requiring name, postal address, etc., and then email you a confirmation before it would finalize your sign-up and send you the coveted password. Only *then* would it allow you to log in and set your mail preferences. They stopped doing that after being blacklisted and having to clean up a database full of
obscene street names.

(1) an e-mail recipient cannot be required to pay a fee, provide information other than his or her e-mail address and opt-out preferences, or take any steps other than sending a reply e-mail message or visiting a single Internet Web page to opt out of receiving future e-mail from a sender;”

Accordingly, the Commission adopts final Rule 316.5, which prohibits the imposition of any fee, any requirement to provide personally identifying information (beyond one’s email address), or any other obligation as a condition for accepting or honoring a recipient’s opt-out request.

Here is the FULL Document.
http://www.ftc.gov/os/2008/05/R411008frn.pdf