Is it legal to reuse an email list after a company acquisition?

Email marketer from ActiveCampaign shares that while acquiring a list might seem like a quick way to grow your audience, it often leads to low engagement and deliverability issues. Additionally, it might violate anti-spam laws and harm your sender reputation.

Email marketer from Campaign Monitor explains that using purchased email lists is unethical, harms deliverability, and can result in being blacklisted by ISPs. It also undermines trust with your audience.

Email marketer from Sendinblue warns against buying email lists due to the risk of spam complaints, damage to sender reputation, and potential legal issues. It is better to use opt-in methods and to grow your list organically.

Email marketer from Email Geeks recommends that if using a purchased email list in the US, send a notification email explaining the situation and how to adjust preferences or be deleted. This balances marketing with legal considerations.

Email marketer from Litmus explains that acquiring email lists can seriously damage your sender reputation and deliverability. ISPs look unfavorably on senders who email people without their explicit permission.

Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that emailing users who have unsubscribed and then transferred to a new company would be a violation of Federal law CAN-SPAM. Also with consideration of all the new laws in Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Iowa, Montana, Indiana, Tennessee new companies should tread very carefully.

Email marketer from Email on Acid advises against purchasing lists and emphasizes the importance of permission-based marketing. They also recommend segmenting your list so you know how you got each subscriber, if you were to acquire a company.

Email marketer from Mailchimp explains that purchasing or acquiring email lists can negatively impact your sender reputation. Sending unsolicited emails to people who haven't subscribed to your list is against Mailchimp's terms and may be illegal in some jurisdictions.

Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that in UK/EU, if the legal entity changes as the owner of the list due to takeover, acquisition, or merger, the new owner must inform data subjects of the change and their rights. It should be transparent and aligned with legitimate interests, considering the expectations of subscribers, the original reason for subscribing, and how closely the new owner matches those reasons and expectations.

Email marketer from Forbes discusses the ethical and practical issues of buying email lists, emphasizing that it damages your brand reputation, lowers engagement rates, and is often ineffective. Building an organic list is a better long-term strategy.

Email marketer from HubSpot explains that buying email lists is not recommended because it violates anti-spam laws, can damage sender reputation, and often results in low engagement rates. It's better to grow your list organically.

Email marketer from Email Geeks recommends that, when there will be a new list owner, that the old list owner sends an email the old list first *before* the transfer, giving all the necessary information who the new list owner is (their brand, sending email address, opt-out etc.) and indeed their rights. And after the transfer (also removing the newly opt-outs), the new list owner does a reminder of that same informative email.

Email marketer from Reddit shares that under GDPR, reusing a list after acquisition requires explicit consent. If the original consent didn't cover the new entity and purpose, re-permissioning is necessary. Transparency is key.

Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that reusing an email list should be legal as long as the transfer of the asset was stipulated in the terms and conditions that triggered the initial subscription.

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that the legality of using an acquired email list depends on whether data portability requirements are met, specifically the subscriber’s reasonable expectation of continued communication and the transparency of the transfer.

Expert from Email Geeks explains that generally, when a company is bought, the assets, including customer goodwill and permission, are included. Most ESPs will allow this as long as it doesn't cause complaints, especially if the mailing is under the old brand to the customers of the old brand. It's common practice for purchasers to continue mailing existing customers.

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that GDPR's stringent consent requirements complicate list usage post-acquisition. If original consent doesn't explicitly cover the new entity or purposes, contacting subscribers is problematic. Transparency is essential; notify subscribers about the change.

Documentation from the Federal Trade Commission states that the CAN-SPAM Act requires senders to honor opt-out requests promptly. If the acquired company's list contains individuals who opted out, the acquiring company must not email them, as reusing such a list would violate the act.

Documentation from Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) emphasizes that consent is required to send commercial electronic messages. The law is very strict and purchasing or using lists without proper consent is illegal. Must provide proof of consent if you want to contact someone.

Documentation from General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) states that consent must be specific, informed, and unambiguous. If a company is acquired, the new entity must ensure that the original consent covers the new purpose, or obtain fresh consent.

Documentation from California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) states that consumer data can be transferred as part of a merger, acquisition, or bankruptcy, but consumers must be notified of the transfer and any material changes to the privacy policy.