The purpose of this Bill is to control the sending of unsolicited commercial communications in bulk, commonly referred to as spam, by electronic mail or by text or multimedia messaging to mobile telephone numbers.

The Spam Control Act only applies to electronic messages that originate from Singapore and are accessed in Singapore. It specifically disallows the sending of electronic messages to addresses obtained through dictionary attacks or address harvesting software, i.e. through automated means that generates possible electronic addresses.

What the Spam Control Act means for you

• What is an “unsolicited” commercial electronic message

A message is “unsolicited” if the recipient did not
- request to receive the message (i.e. through an opt-in mechanism) OR
- consent to the receipt of the message

Simply providing an email address or mobile number does not constitute having requested or provided consent.

• What it means to send a “commercial electronic message” “in bulk”

A “commercial electronic message”
- Advertises and offers to supply goods, services, or land AND/OR
- Offers or advertises a business or investment opportunity AND/OR
- Offers to assist or enable a person to dishonestly obtain property or financial advantage from another person

A person who knowingly allows his product or service to be advertised or promoted by a sender is deemed to have authorized the sending.

It does not matter if the electronic address exists or whether the message reaches its intended destination or recipient.

• What your unsolicited bulk commercial electronic messages must contain

Electronic messages by email:
- An email address to which the recipient can submit an unsubscribe request
- A statement that says that the recipient may use this email address to effect an unsubscribe request
- A clear title in the subject field that does not mislead as to the content of the message
- The letters “<ADV>” with a space before the title in the subject field to clearly identify that the message is an advertisement
- Header information that is not false or misleading
- An accurate, functional email address or phone number at which the sender can be contacted

Electronic messages by mobile phone:
- A mobile telephone number to which the recipient can submit an unsubscribe request by text message or multimedia message
- The letters “<ADV>” with a space before the words first appearing in the message to clearly identify that the message is an advertisement
- Header information that is not false or misleading
- An accurate, functional email address or phone number at which the sender can be contacted

In both cases, the information must be presented in a clear and conspicuous manner and in English. When the recipient submits an unsubscribe request, this must be effected within 10 business days after the day on which the request is submitted.

• What happens when your unsolicited bulk commercial electronic messages do not comply with regulation

Any person may commence an action in court against the sender to claim loss or damage. This person may be entitled to:
- damages not exceeding $25 for each electronic message received
- total damages not exceeding $1m, unless it can be proven that actual total loss exceeds $1m

The defendant will also have to pay costs and expenses of legal proceedings related to the claim.