A new series of proposed laws could make life much harder on US email marketers, if they are passed.

Several bills are simmering at the state level that could force email marketers to switch to an opt-in model, rather than the current opt-out one, according to Jim Conway, vice-president of government relations for the Direct Marketing Association, speaking at MediaPost's Email Insider Summit on Tuesday, MediaPost reports. Conway added that if these bills are successful, they could easily be the model for other states, and even the U.S. Congress.

Also, the FTC now is taking a closer look at privacy policies. At the Tech-Ade conference last month in Washington, D.C., commissioners indicated that they were concerned by a perceived lack of transparency in privacy policies, Alan Chapell, president of Chapell Associates, said. Chapell added that marketers may need to come up with new, more stringent policies to avoid government regulation.

"Now the commissioners are saying the traditional privacy policies are insufficient. Again, we're risking government regulation. So maybe we need to go above and beyond the traditional privacy policies."

Source: MarketingVOX.com