Due to continued Covid-19 restrictions many retailers with no previous e-commerce presence are moving to online commerce. This change increased online commercial activity and has resulted in a need for businesses to comply with new rules regulating the advertising and the sending of unsolicited emails to customers.
Sending unsolicited emails to consumers in Israel is regulated under section 30A of the Telecommunications Law (Telephone and Broadcast), 1982 (“Anti-Spam Law” or “The Law”).
The Law prohibits businesses the transmission of “advertising material” by electronic means without the recipient’s prior explicit consent, which must be expressed in writing.
“Advertising material” is defined as “a commercially distributed message intended to offer for sale a good or service or otherwise promote a monetary expenditure”.
The Law provides two important exemptions: First, advertisers may contact a business (as opposed to individual) recipient once, to solicit consent for future communications. Second, advertisers may transmit advertising material to an individual recipient if: (a) they obtained the contact details of the recipient during a sale or negotiations for the sale of a product or service and notified the recipient at that time that those details would be used for electronic transmission of advertising material. (b) the recipient has been given a simple means (free of charge except for the cost of transmission) of refusing to accept additional advertising material; and(c) the advertising material relates to a similar product or service.
Under the Law, an advertising message must be clearly labeled as such, using the word “advertisement” at the subject line. In addition, an advertising message must specify the name and contact details of the advertiser as well as the recipient’s right to notify the advertiser at any time and by reasonable means of his or her refusal to receive additional messages.
The Law imposes liability not only on the party sending the advertising message but also on any party: (a) whose name or contact details appear in the message for the purpose of purchasing goods or services; or(b) whose business or purposes may be promoted by the message. Companies working with third party advertisers or direct marketing services must ensure compliance by their service providers to avoid potential liability for illicit messages sent on their behalf.
Under the Law advertisers are subject to a fines or each message sent in violation of The Law, or for messages not containing the requisite content. Furthermore, the Law imposes personal liability on directors and officers, including marketing managers, of infringing advertisers.
Violation of the Law constitutes not only a criminal offence but also a civil tort. Recipients may be awarded statutory damages in an amount up to 1,000 NIS for each infringing message they received. Moreover, recipients of infringing messages may bring a class action lawsuit under the Law.
We strongly advice you to consult with an Israeli lawyer before sending commercial emails to Israeli customers. Filing class action lawsuits against local and foreign corporations became very popular in Israel.
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The above information is not intended to constitute legal advice and cannot relied upon. One should seek specific professional advice for the application of the law in any specific situation.
Alon Saposhnik, Law Office @ all rights reserved
Tel: + 972 – (0) 72 – 250 25 12
Hamada Street 6 | Herzliya 4673340 | Israel
