outbound-compliance
Installation
SKILL.md
Outbound Compliance
Cold B2B email is legal in most of the world, with conditions that differ by jurisdiction. The conditions are not onerous and most of them describe what a decent sender would do anyway.
This is a practical summary, not legal advice. For a programme at any scale, or into a regulated sector, get a lawyer in the relevant jurisdiction to review it. What follows is enough to design the programme correctly and to know which questions to ask.
The map
| Region | Law | B2B cold email | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | CAN-SPAM | Legal, opt-out basis | Accurate headers, honest subject, physical address, working opt-out honoured within 10 days |
| EU/EEA | GDPR + ePrivacy | Generally legal B2B under legitimate interest, varies by member state | Lawful basis, transparency, right to object honoured immediately, records |
| UK | UK GDPR + PECR | Legal to corporate subscribers | Same as EU. PECR is lighter for corporate bodies than for individuals |
| Canada | CASL | Consent-based, strict | Express or implied consent, identification, opt-out. Significant penalties |
| Australia | Spam Act | Consent-based, inferred consent possible for business roles | Identify, opt-out, consent basis |
| Germany | GDPR + UWG | Restrictive in practice | Prior consent expected for email marketing. Take advice |
Two to be careful with: Canada is genuinely consent-based rather than opt-out, and enforcement is real. Germany is stricter than GDPR alone implies, and a common trap for people who assume "EU means legitimate interest".