Tap any paragraph to write a margin note. Your notes collect in the Desk below the text and file under cases with @. The side-by-side margin rail opens on a larger screen.

Code · CFR · Title 16 — Commercial Practices · Part 316 — Can-SPAM Rule · § 316.4

§ 316.4. Requirement to place warning labels on commercial electronic mail that contains sexually oriented material.

372 words·~2 min read·/us/cfr/t16/s§ 316.4·

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

(a)Any person who initiates, to a protected computer, the transmission of a commercial electronic mail message that includes sexually oriented material must:
(1)Exclude sexually oriented materials from the subject heading for the electronic mail message and include in the subject heading the phrase "SEXUALLY-EXPLICIT:" in capital letters as the first nineteen
(19)characters at the beginning of the subject line; 2 2 The phrase "SEXUALLY-EXPLICIT" comprises 17 characters, including the dash between the two words. The colon (:) and the space following the phrase are the 18 th and 19 th characters.
(2)Provide that the content of the message that is initially viewable by the recipient, when the message is opened by any recipient and absent any further actions by the recipient, include only the following information:
(i)The phrase "SEXUALLY-EXPLICIT:" in a clear and conspicuous manner; 3 3 This phrase consists of nineteen
(19)characters and is identical to the phrase required in 316.5(a)(1) of this Rule.
(ii)Clear and conspicuous identification that the message is an advertisement or solicitation;
(iii)Clear and conspicuous notice of the opportunity of a recipient to decline to receive further commercial electronic mail messages from the sender;
(iv)A functioning return electronic mail address or other Internet-based mechanism, clearly and conspicuously displayed, that
(A)A recipient may use to submit, in a manner specified in the message, a reply electronic mail message or other form of Internet-based communication requesting not to receive future commercial electronic mail messages from that sender at the electronic mail address where the message was received; and
(B)Remains capable of receiving such messages or communications for no less than 30 days after the transmission of the original message;
(v)Clear and conspicuous display of a valid physical postal address of the sender; and
(vi)Any needed instructions on how to access, or activate a mechanism to access, the sexually oriented material, preceded by a clear and conspicuous statement that to avoid viewing the sexually oriented material, a recipient should delete the email message without following such instructions.
(b)Prior affirmative consent. Paragraph
(a)does not apply to the transmission of an electronic mail message if the recipient has given prior affirmative consent to receipt of the message.
Connections13 cite this
Citation graph
cites case law
§ 316.4
Requirement to place warning labels on commercial electronic mail that contains sexually oriented material.
Fed. Reg.×12
C.F.R.×1
Cites 0Cited by 13 across 2 sources
★   the supreme law of the land   ★
Don't Tread on Me
E Pluribus Unum — out of many, one

"If you don't know your rights, you don't have any."

Marginalia · a citizen's law index
A research desk, not legal advice. Always read the cited source before relying on a summary.
Questions or an issue? support@self-law.org
disclaimerMarginalia is a research index, not a law firm. Nothing on this site is legal, tax, or financial advice and no attorney–client relationship is formed by using it. Statutes, regulations, and case law change; summaries, search results, AI output, and member posts may be incomplete, out of date, or wrong. Any interpretation drawn from material on this site should be validated by a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction before you act on it.