Page 43 - AVN October 2015

Warning: The TCPA and the CAN-SPAM Act each
have been subject to amendments and a dizzying
array of regulations. If you take anything away from
this article, know that all of this is profoundly too
complex to navigate without the assistance of an
attorney who has experience in these areas. Not just
these channels of marketing, but almost any kind of
advertising, is subject to extensive regulations of the
Federal Trade Commission, which can ruin you if you
screw up.
So, as it stands, the federal government now
regulates most of the effective, high-tech methods
of bombarding citizens with advertising. Junk mail
regulates itself. It is expensive to print and, even with
the post office’s bulk-mail discount, to send. And
postal customers have reached the point that they put
a wastebasket next to their mailboxes.
So, what are these regulations; and what woe can
betide a violator? It depends.
CAN-SPAM includes a thicket of regulations about
commercial emails. The first issue is the definition
of a commercial email. CAN-SPAM, you see, applies
only to commercial messages, as is the case with the
TCPA. So, for example, suppose an email quotes the
King James Bible about the Sabbath, editorializes
extensively about why everyone should celebrate
it, and then adds a sponsored advertisement for a
chain of stores owned by god-fearing Christians who,
because of their beliefs, close on Sundays? That’s
okay.
CAN-SPAM goes on to require the now-familiar
“unsubscribe” function; makes exceptions for
businesses sending emails to existing customers;
and prohibits “harvesting” of email addresses by
way of spiders (aka webcrawlers). When it comes to
advertisements including porn, CAN-SPAM effectively
prohibits it.
TCPA regulates a multitude of sins. First, it creates
the familiar “do not call registry.” So, Jerry Seinfeld
theoretically could have avoided his intrusive call
by registration, although not until 2005. The irony
is that it applies only to consumers. So, if you have
a business that is bombarded with cold calls, you
suffer the cost of lost time answering them. Second,
it prohibits robo-calls and junk faxes. But once again,
the robo-call prohibition applies only to calls to
consumers, so businesses are not helped in that vein.
Third, while it does not altogether prohibit cold calls
to consumers, it prohibits those calls between 9 p.m.
and 8 a.m. Finally, it altogether prohibits junk faxes
and commercial solicitations to cell phones, via voice
or text message. It also has regulations dealing with
auto-dialers and other minutia of the telemarketing
industry.
The admonition about garnering the assistance of
an attorney before venturing into high-tech marketing
(or any marketing) comes to life when reviewing the
consequences of violating one of these laws. They can
be dire.
Enforcement of CAN-SPAM generally is the
province of the Federal Trade Commission. It can sue
for civil penalties of up to $11,000 per non-complying
email, and has collected millions under that license.
CAN-SPAM does not create a private right of
damages, although in California one is created under
the state’s unfair competition law.
TCPA is another kettle of fish. While government
enforcement is available, it provides a private right of
action with statutory damages of $500 per violation;
$1,500 if the violation was willful.
Now, if you know what a class action is, it may
have dawned on you that a TCPA claim would be
excellent fodder for one. In a recent article, one
analyst (Mary Gail Gearns, Esq., 2015 WL 4967446
partner in the international mega-law firm of Morgan
Lewis & Bockius LLP) noted:
“Consumer protection statutes with near-strict
liability standards and statutory damages have been
longtime favorites of the plaintiffs’ class action bar.
One federal statute that has become increasingly
popular is the Telephone Consumer Protection Act
(TCPA), which, among other things, provides a
private right of action for consumers who receive
‘robocalls’ without supplying express prior consent to
receive such calls. Use of the TCPA is favored because
violations are relatively easy to prove and statutory
damages of $500 per violation (and up to $1,500 per
willful violation) are easy to calculate.”
Stay tuned. Next month, this column will talk
about class actions, which can be a menace.
Cams.com Debuts New Tipping Mode for Performers
Cams.com, powered by Streamray, the live cams division of
FriendFinder Networks, has introduced a new Tipping Mode
New Site Ready for Auction
that allows cams performers to chat with members for free
while enticing them to view shows and tip all along the way.
“Our new Cams.com Tipping Mode allows models to
get even more creative,” said Scott
Adult Flipp, an adult-friendly
alternative to Flippa, is now live.
Adult Flipp allows users to buy and
sell domains in an auction format.
Adult Flipp was founded because
platforms like Flippa have it in their
terms and conditions that they do not
accept adult properties. Adult is all
that Adult Flipp does.
“We are proud to introduce
Adult Flipp, a new member of the
AdultSiteBroker.com family,” said a
spokesman of the company. “At Adult
Site Broker we realized that there
were smaller properties we could not
serve, because of their lower values.
So we created Adult Flipp for this
purpose”.
Adult Flipp is waiving the listing
fee for a limited time. Go to
AdultFlipp.com for more details.
Thompson, director of product
marketing for Cams.com. “Setting tip
goals that turn a tease into more of
a game-show atmosphere is already
making fans feel more engaged with
their favorite models. Of course, each
model on Cams.com is always in total
control, setting the goal amounts, the
length of each show and how many
Tipping Mode shows models want to
do during their time online. The more
unique and exciting the show is, the
more money is made, because models
choose the goals they set and there are
no caps on how many tips your fans
can send you while engaged in the
Tipping Mode.”
Once Tipping Mode is selected in
the broadcaster, performers can decide
the goal amount for the show. Shorter,
less revealing shows can be set at
lower prices to gain more fans, while longer, more intimate
shows can be set at higher prices to maximize revenue. Or,
models can choose goals anywhere in between. Cams.com
management is leaving it to the performers to play with the
amounts and test goals to find the sweet spot that fits their
audience the best. Plus, the new “curtain”
feature only allows fans who tip to view, once
the model starts her show.
“Keep in mind, Cams.com is all about
empowering our models to perform at their
very best, and that’s why we have created
Tipping Mode as an additional money-making
tool, in addition to our other great features,”
said Thompson. “Models who prefer paid
private chats can continue using it. Models
who prefer Tipping Mode can choose it. And,
performers can also go back and forth from
one to the other while online with a just a few
convenient clicks. It’s all about finding what
fits individual styles.”
To start profiting from the new Cams.com
Tipping Mode, prospective cam performers can
go to ModelsStreamray.com, create an account
and view the details. At the site, they can
contact a Cams.com model manager with any
questions and learn how to earn more money
online.
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