Hacker News Reader

Comment by sleepyhead | Hacker News Reader

This is exactly why GDPR exists. What you are describing is illegal in the EU. Sending marketing communication requires clear opt in consent.

View on HN

I just had this experience today. The problem is that at least in the States the regulation is ambiguous enough to be abused to hell and back. Unsubscribe in the States could mean “Unsubscribe from all” or “Unsubscribe from 1 of 20” or it could mean “unsubscribe from all now, but we will arbitrarily resign you up for some new newsletter whenever we feel like it”. I got a spam email today from some no name dropshipper I bought contacts from probably a decade ago, I got LASIK 3 years ago and haven’t needed contacts since.

Some large companies even flagrantly violate the extremely lax rules that exist in the States. Guitar Center has infamously been sending me emails that are in direct violation of the one click unsubscribe regulations for almost a decade now. I can’t even sign in to the account to cancel the emails (which is in direct violation of the regulation- it is ambiguous on a lot of things but the one thing that it isn’t is that you aren’t supposed to be required to log in to opt out of email communications) because it was made with my dad’s email from 20 years ago yet I’m the recipient of the spam.

I did report them; but of course nothing must have happened because they are still doing it.

> unsubscribe from all now, but we will arbitrarily resign you up for some new newsletter whenever we feel like it

The LinkedIn way.

I don't know the legality of this in the EU but often it is required that you opt-in to these marketing emails to create an account or do other basic things on a website.

And then there's those online stores that cover the entire page in a popup that you can get a 20% discount code if you give your email. Technically I've opted into their marketing. But I always just use the coupon and then report the email as spam without bothering to unsubscribe.

If you need to opt-in to create an account then it is illegal. Yes the discount code for newsletter signup is a result of GDPR consent requirement along with growth hacking technique popularity that is incredibly annoying.

Even European Websites do this. I know that in principle I never check the "I want to receive spam" but I still do and still have to unsubscribe later.

Report them to your local DPA. I do not see this so often with big companies but every growth hacking startup send newsletters without consent.

And regularly occurs

Also there are separate email marketing laws.

Referring people by email to the site!

> There is simply no easy way for your users to legally invite their own friends to your site, so it can never reach critical mass.

Referring friends and family by sending emails on your own? Who the fuck does that since ~2010? Ever heard of social media and instant messengers?

Edit: Parent was a wall of text when I responded. Stealth editing it to something completely different is not cool.

It covers instant messengers too. You need to obtain the consent of the person receiving the message, before prefilling the message with the URL and text for their FRIEND to send them. Sorry buddy. That road is closed for you too!

Social media MAY be an exception, but that's because people are already used to receiving a ton of spam on it, so your "viral post" will be ineffective to begin with, and probably filtered by Facebook and not shown to most people at all. Enjoy.

All the original social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter used ways to invite others by email (famously in Harvard etc.) So now they are burning the bridges behind them and no one can do it anymore.

Are you sure? I don't have more than anecdotal data, but I remember unsubscribing from EU newsletters to be much more cumbersome than from US ones.

I was recently subscribed to ~500 newsletters within 10 minutes, and the most annoying ones to unsubscribe where from Brasil, US, India, etc.

(An attacker used the paypal guest account feature and used my IBAN [european bank account number] and tried to hide the mail within those hundreds of mails. They were successful for some days, until the purchase showed up on my bank account)

This is my experience as well. US emails are one-click unsubscribe almost without fail, while EU and AU especially require multiple clicks and often entering my email address to unsub. Extremely annoying.

What do you mean, how is there a difference between unsubscribing a newsletter from a EU company than a US company?

If it's at all difficult just reply saying something with the 'GDPR' keyword and they'll hop on it.

A few times I've had unsubscribe links absent or not working for whatever reason and done that and a human's replied and sorted it out.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com