One Person’s Networking Is Another’s Spam

Generally speaking, adding people to an ongoing mailing list without their express consent is considered spamming. On the other hand, isn’t it professionally necessary to communicate regularly with the people you know? Otherwise, aren’t they just a database entry? How are you supposed to keep in touch with even a few hundred people, much less a few thousand?

It’s not a simple problem. Let’s explore it in more detail. A discussion earlier this year on the LinkedInnovators Yahoo! Group looked at this issue, starting with a proclamation from Steve Delaney:

"If you are a spam vigilante… or in any way opposed to networking via email or inmail, then please remove your connection to my network. I have to assume that people who connect with me want to communicate."

Steve has a valid point. Business-oriented social networking sites are meant to be tools for strengthening and leveraging relationships. In a virtual world, communication — largely through email — is the basis on which relationships are built. How can you possibly be willing to send referrals to and through people if you aren’t even willing to take the time to get to know them by actually communicating with them? Certainly it’s reasonable to expect your connections to receive your communications, right?

But where is the boundary? Kai Roer responded:

""IMO ("in my opinion"), when I accept or invite a connection, there is nothing in that acceptance that says it is OK for the connection to send me a weekly newsletter. Some people seem to be using LinkedIn as a newsletter subscription service -- and I do not approve of that kind of behavior."

Interestingly, despite common perception to the contrary, CAN-SPAM (the U.S. bill governing unsolicited commercial email) is not completely clear on this topic -- it doesn’t seem to specifically prohibit this practice. Look at the definitions regarding a commercial electronic mail message (Sec. 3 (2)):

• "(A) IN GENERAL -- The term 'commercial electronic mail message' means any electronic mail message, the primary purpose of which is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service (including content on an Internet website operated for a commercial purpose)."
• "(B) TRANSACTIONAL OR RELATIONSHIP MESSAGES -- The term 'commercial electronic mail message' does not include a transactional or relationship message."
• …
• "(D) REFERENCE TO COMPANY OR WEBSITE -- The inclusion of a reference to a commercial entity or a link to the website of a commercial entity in an electronic mail message does not, by itself, cause such a message to be treated as a commercial electronic mail message for purposes of this Act if the contents or circumstances of the message indicate a primary purpose other than commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service."

Don’t go jumping to conclusions about what a "relationship message" is… they do go on to define it in great detail. We won’t reprint the whole thing here, but let’s suffice it to say that in the context of CAN-SPAM, it does not include "just keeping in touch".

That said, is "just keeping in touch" considered "commercial", i.e., "the primary purpose…is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service"? It’s a gray area to which there’s no easy answer (and no court precedent we know of).

Even if it is a commercial message, there’s actually nothing illegal about sending multiple unsolicited commercial email messages, so long as they meet the legal requirements, such as providing complete contact information and providing a functional opt-out link.

It’s clear, though, that regardless of the legality, it does cross some people’s ethical boundaries. In a response to the above discussion, Jarrod Broussard wrote:

"I would disconnect with a user who took the liberty to subscribe me any newsletters without my explicit permission… Newsletter subscriptions…should be explicitly "Opt In" as opposed to a condition of connecting to an individual that the connectee has to forcibly undo."

Generally we agree with Jarrod, but "should" in this case is solely an ethical issue, and not a legal one.

However, Jason Alba, founder of JibberJobber, takes an opposing view. He adds people from his LinkedIn connections to his monthly newsletter list, which he produces using Constant Contact. He explains his rationale:

"If you request a connection, I feel like I have the right to send you an update about me and my business each month…hopefully people that have the opinion that this is wrong will not go asking for loose connections and expect nothing in return… don’t you think?"