Unsolicited Commercial Message (Spam): Prohibited or Permitted?

دانشنامه حقوق اقتصادی

Volume 30, Issue 24, March 2024, Pages 63-78   

Document Type: Scientific research

DOI: 10.22067/economlaw.2024.85568.1331

Authors

Mostafa Bakhtiarvand^{* 1}; sayyed mohammad hadi Ghabooli Dorafshan²

¹Associate Professor, Department of Private Law and Intellectual Property Law, Faculty of Law, University of Qom, Qom, Iran.

²Associate Professor, Department of Islamic Jurisprudence and Principles of Islamic Law, Ferdowsi University

Abstract

Unsolicited commercial messages (spam) are sent electronically and in bulk, without the consent of the recipient, through tools such as e-mail or SMS. Apart from the advantages for advertisers, spam can violate the privacy of internet and mobile phone users and cause economic losses and widespread dissatisfaction of consumers and even merchants. This, along with the possibility of disrupting the functioning of systems such as e-mail and SMS, may lead to mistrust of e-commerce and digital economy.
The results of this descriptive-analytical article show that some countries allow the sending of spam even without the consent of the recipient, and their subsequent opposition is considered an obstacle to sending, which is called the opt-out method. Other countries require the prior consent of the recipient that it is known as the opt-in method. The two mentioned methods are applied through three legislative approaches namely with tolerance, intermediate and hard, which are divided and named according to the way of dealing with spam senders and remedies and sanctions. The position of Iranian law regarding the prohibition or permission of sending spam is not very clear. In this article, passing a law or some explicit and transparent legal articles regarding spam, by adopting an opt-in method and predicting efficient remedies and sanctions in Iran, is proposed.

Keywords

Spam; Commercial Advertisements; Unsolicited Commercial Message; Opt-in Approach; Opt-out Approach

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