Should it be Easier to Unsubscribe From Emails? (H.R. 4709)

What is H.R. 4709?

(Updated June 7, 2020)

This bill would make it easier to unsubscribe from commercial emails by requiring them to contain an “unsubscribe from all” option. The emails would have to be setup so that recipients wouldn’t have to take more than one additional step to request that they no longer receive emails from the sender.

Commercial email messages would be required to be capable of receiving unsubscribe replies for at least 30 days after the original message is sent.

Argument in favor

Receiving endless commercial emails is annoying and clogs inboxes. It should as easy as possible for consumers to unsubscribe from all emails they don’t want.

Argument opposed

The federal government shouldn’t be determining how businesses let email recipients unsubscribe from emails, people can figure it out for themselves.

Impact

People who want to unsubscribe from emails; businesses that send commercial emails; and federal regulators.

Cost of H.R. 4709

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-NY) introduced this bill to ensure that the process for unsubscribing from emails isn’t unnecessarily long or complicated:

“If you no longer want to receive commercial emails from a certain company, you shouldn’t have to check a bunch of different boxes and fill out a survey telling the company why you’re unsubscribing. It should be as simple as clicking unsubscribe, and clicking to confirm your email address. That’s the process that this legislation would require for all commercial emails. It’s fair to consumers, it’s a simple, non-controversial solution to a problem that so many of us face on a daily basis, and I’m going to work to get it passed.”

Of Note: According to research by DMR, on average an officer work will receive 121 emails per day, and 205 billion emails are sent daily throughout the world.

Media:

• Sponsoring Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-NY) Press Release