Does Chamber of Commerce Membership Mean Automatic Consent to Email Marketing?

Are you a member of a local chamber of commerce? Do you receive tons of emails from other members marketing their stuff or advertising commercial content? Have you been sending out commercial emails to other members without their consent?

A while back I joined a Chamber of Commerce and I know that I did not give them consent to share my email address with other members. Suddenly, I started receiving emails about products and services from different organizations who are also members of the same Chamber of Commerce.

Have you received such emails too? What did you do? Did you give them permission to send you these emails? Before you send out commercial emails or add people to your email list, consent is required.

In my situation, I could not even unsubscribe from the emails. The option to do that was absent.

Note to Chamber of Commerce Staff and Members:

Comply with CAN-SPAM Act and get consent before you send anyone commercial emails. If they opt-in to your newsletter or email list, provide a clear opportunity to unsubscribe.

Do you know that non-compliance is costly?
Each separate email that violates the CAN-SPAM Act is subject to fines of up to $40,654. Dear Chamber of Commerce President or Chamber of Commerce members [sending out commercial emails to people who did not consent], can you afford such mistakes?

PS. I am available to train staff on consent issues regarding data privacy and protection. Click here to schedule an appointment. 

Belinda Enoma, LLM

Belinda Enoma is an international speaker, Cyber Privacy and Security Consultant focusing on US-EU laws including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). She is a renowned digital influencer, author, host of iEmancipateMe global conferences, ordained pastor and mentor to women who are life changers.