Should ESPs use global suppression lists for hard bounces across different customers?

Marketer from Email Geeks shares that non-existence of an address is not PII and argues that if the global list only contains the address, it might not constitute a data controller.

Email marketer from Sendinblue explains that shared suppression lists, although effective in reducing bounce rates, also raise data privacy and compliance concerns, especially regarding GDPR. They suggest implementing robust consent mechanisms.

Email marketer from Litmus shares that using shared suppression lists may help inbox placement rates by preventing sending to known bad addresses, but they emphasize that this should be balanced against legal and ethical considerations regarding data privacy.

Email marketer from Reddit explains that using a global suppression list across multiple clients could violate data protection rules, and an individual's consent to receive emails from one company doesn't mean they consent to receive emails from all companies using the same ESP.

Email marketer from StackExchange shares that maintaining a suppression list specific to each client is better. It allows for individual control over the suppression and avoids any data privacy issues related to sharing data across different clients.

Email marketer from Neil Patel Blog explains that shared suppression lists can improve email deliverability by preventing senders from emailing addresses that have previously hard bounced for other senders, but it's important to ensure compliance with privacy regulations.

Marketer from Email Geeks shares that the ownership of an invalid email address is debatable and using shared suppression list wasn't that helpful to reduce hard bounce rates.

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that each user/list bounces their own subscribers, indicating that ESPs generally do not co-mingle data in this way.

Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum shares that suppression lists need to comply with user privacy laws, and that different jurisdictions have different rules about data sharing and usage. Understanding and abiding by these regulations is crucial.

Email marketer from Quora shares that ESPs must be very careful when using global bounce lists as they need to comply with GDPR. Consent obtained for one sender does not apply to all senders on the platform. If an address has unsubscribed from one company using an ESP, the ESP needs to check consent before other companies email them. Otherwise, they could be in breach of GDPR.

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that if an ESP uses a "global" suppression list shared across customers based on hard bounces, there's a high risk for the ESP to become a data controller, which is not ideal.

Email marketer from Email on Acid shares that the use of shared suppression lists requires careful attention to data privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA. They recommend transparency with users and obtaining explicit consent.

Email marketer from Email Marketing Group shares that if you use a shared suppression list, you must still comply with the CAN-SPAM Act. Make sure that you still provide a clear way for subscribers to opt out.

Expert from Email Geeks shares that not co-mingling of data is standard practice at any ESP, because it wouldn't make sense from a customer perspective.

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that using suppression lists effectively requires balancing technical aspects with user experience. Focusing on providing clear opt-out options and honoring user preferences is key for good deliverability and avoiding legal issues.

Expert from Email Geeks shares that many ESPs have a global pander list.

Expert from Spam Resource explains that GDPR states ESPs must obtain separate consent from email users for all the different categories in which they plan on sending communications to their users. Users must also be allowed to revoke their consent at any given time.

Expert from Email Geeks explains that ownership reverts to the domain owner when an address is shut down and if the address is associated with other information, it’s PII.

Documentation from Mailjet explains that Mailjet automatically handles bounces and provides tools to manage your suppression list. They advise to monitor bounces closely and implement feedback loops.

Documentation from AWS explains that Amazon SES (Simple Email Service) automatically manages bounces and complaints. Users are required to set up bounce notifications and handle the events. Repeatedly sending to bouncing addresses can negatively impact sender reputation.

Documentation from RFC specifies the standards for SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), addressing how mail servers should handle bounce messages (Delivery Status Notifications or DSNs). It mandates proper error reporting to the sender.

Documentation from Google explains that using Google Postmaster Tools can provide insights into bounce rates and other deliverability metrics. Monitoring these metrics and keeping bounce rates low helps maintain a good sender reputation.

Documentation from Microsoft shares that Microsoft has anti-spam policies to protect users, so shared suppression lists may be seen in a negative light as they could be a method of passing spam around to multiple clients.