Email Address Harvesting - Legality

Legality

In Australia, the creation or use of email-address harvesting programs (address harvesting software) is illegal according to the 2003 anti-spam legislation only if you intend to use the email-address harvesting programs to send unsolicited commercial email. The legislation is intended to prohibit emails with 'an Australian connection' - spam originating in Australia being sent elsewhere, and spam being sent to an Australian address.

In The United States of America, the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 made it illegal to initiate email to a recipient where the electronic mail address of the recipient was obtained:

• Using an automated means that generates possible electronic mail addresses by combining names, letters, or numbers into numerous permutations.

• Using an automated means to extract electronic mail addresses from an Internet website or proprietary online service operated by another person, and such website or online service included, at the time the address was obtained, a notice stating that the operator of such website or online service will not give, sell, or otherwise transfer addresses maintained by such website or online service to any other party for the purposes of initiating, or enabling others to initiate, electronic mail messages.

Furthermore, website operators may not distribute their legitimately collected lists. The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 requires operators of web sites and online services should include a notice that the site or service will not give, sell, or otherwise transfer addresses maintained by such website or online service to any other party for the purposes of initiating, or enabling others to initiate, electronic mail messages.