By Brian Dautch
CMOR Director of Government Affairs

Chris Sinnard, a survey researcher from Pragmatic Research, Inc. in St. Louis, recently contacted us about a problem his company had been having with SPAM filters.

A number of online surveys Pragmatic had sent out were returned as undeliverable. It turns out that the Internet Service Provider (ISP) Pragmatic had been using subscribed to a service known as "Spamhaus." Spamhaus blocks any and all unsolicited bulk email, regardless of whether the email is commercial, and regardless of whether that email is defined as commercial by CAN SPAM and the equivalent European laws.

In response, CMOR looked into the details of SPAM laws on both sides of the Atlantic. As it turns out, the U.S. (CAN SPAM) and European Union each have legislation in place specifically defining SPAM as a commercial form of email (i.e., sales or advertising based). Since survey research is not commercial, it does not fall under these definitions.

We contacted Steve Linford, the head of Spamhaus, based in the United Kingdom. Even though we explained the nature of SPAM laws in the U.S. and EU, including links to the specific clauses that defined what SPAM is (and isn't), Mr. Linford was unresponsive, and refused to remove survey researchers from his company's internal definition of "SPAM," which included our profession, even though the two major legislatures in question do not.

The next move, as suggested by Chris Sinnard, was for Pragmatic to contact their ISP and simply explain the problem to them. In relatively short order, the ISP agreed to remove Pragmatic's emails from their Spamhaus filter. The surveys were then delivered to their intended respondents.

There are several important lessons to learn from this misadventure. First of all, always contact your ISP, before you do anything else, if a problem of this type arises. It is distinctly possible that they'll agree to handle the problem, rather than risk losing your business.

Secondly, if you find your ISP to be uncooperative on this issue, please contact CMOR and let us know. We will get you the name of an Internet Service Provider that is known to be friendly to survey research on matters of this type. You can then either switch service providers, or threaten to abandon your current ISP as a last-ditch attempt to elicit help from them on your SPAM problems.

Thirdly, CMOR is exploring ways to phase out problems of this type. Unfortunately, the threat of lawsuits could lead to (a) a costly defeat in court and/or (b) a judge who rules by simply saying, "There's already a solution…just switch ISPs," and then dismisses the case. Both outcomes are expensive and unhelpful.

Still, CMOR is always looking for legislative avenues to address problems like this. As we progressively make gains in Congress, we hope to be able to come right out and ask for a law that specifically addresses this problem. Stay tuned for updates on this issue, and I hope the lessons of Chris Sinnard's experiences are helpful to those of you who work with online surveys.

By LaToya Deann Rembert Esq.
CMOR Government Affairs Analyst

CMOR has maintained extensive and relentless monitoring of state legislative activity that may impact the profession. For the most part, a majority of state legislatures are on recess. Despite the hiatus within the states, CMOR continues to provide the survey research industry with the most current updates possible on state laws and legislation. We are committed to being the ultimate source to our members for any and all legislative research needs. As a result of this commitment, CMOR has been actively updating its resources for our members' convenience.

One of the most significant actions CMOR has accomplished is an update of the State Do Not Call laws. The semi-annual State Do Not Call list has been updated with the latest information as of August 2004. The list contains all of the states with relevant laws related to do-not-call including: the citation for each law and what that law requires, a link to the text of the law, the effective date for each law, an indication of whether research is implicitly or explicitly exempt from the law in question, information regarding the entities enforcing the laws, and a model response for interviewers to use when confronted by respondents who claim they cannot be called because they are included on a state do-not-call registry.

This list has grown quite extensively over the past two years, with 42 states passing legislation relating to the do-not-call issue. The entities enforcing these registries range from attorneys general to consumer protection boards to public utilities commissions. Most of the laws reflect the creation of a state do-not-call registry. The listing also contains a number of states that have incorporated the federal do-not-call registry as their official state listing. Additionally, the state do-not-call resource provides an interesting look into how each state respectively defines "telephone solicitation" or "telephone sales calls".

More importantly, as the 2004 legislative session continues, CMOR will be updating this resource based on current pending legislation that, if passed, will become state law. A membership to CMOR and a password will be required to gain access to the information.

Beyond the Do Not Call state laws, www.cmor.org is also integrating a wide range of other resources, including more state laws reflecting the issues that concern the survey research profession. Future resources that will be included on the CMOR website include a state listing of facsimile laws, an update on wireless portability information, and current resources for issues relating to privacy. The fax law section will contain all states that have passed legislation or laws pertaining to facsimiles, and will be similar in design to the state do-not-call list resource. In the area of wireless portability, CMOR is in the process of updating the latest developments in this area, including a listing of resources that can be utilized by the industry for compliance. CMOR's privacy information will be updated with the latest information on privacy related issues and developments in the United States and internationally, including the most recent reference materials.

During this sequence of projects and updates, CMOR will maintain a thorough legislative watch and will continue to be a forceful voice for the profession against sugging and frugging practices, as well as any other potential threats to our profession.

As both the state and federal legislatures reconvene, CMOR will remain focused on all relevant legislative action on both levels. Specifically, CMOR has established contact with the state legislatures of Minnesota and Pennsylvania to make certain that survey research is not included in an anti-push polling measure, nor included in the call center registration requirement, respectively.

As always, CMOR is committed to providing its members with timely and accurate information on all issues affecting the profession. We are dedicated to ensuring that the autonomy of the survey research profession is not jeopardized. Look for these future developments and many others coming soon to reinforce CMOR's role within the survey research field.