01 THE PROPOSED STANDARD
Put the burden on the sender.
Under this proposal, senders get affirmative permission before optional outreach. The recipient chooses the sender, purpose, channel, and expected frequency. A reply to a request stays within the scope of that request.
- BEFORE CONTACT
Get permission yourself.
A bought list, prechecked box, hidden term, or agreement with an unnamed partner gives a sender no permission. Neither does a purchase, a donation, a voter registration, or a party affiliation. The same rule covers fundraising, voter information, and reminders to vote, including messages described as nonpartisan.
- DURING CONTACT
Show where permission came from.
State the sender, purpose, channel, and when and how the recipient opted in. Put the notice in each email and text. Say it aloud on calls. Make the underlying consent record available to the recipient, including what they agreed to, and provide a simple way to withdraw.
Example notice. “You opted in on May 12 through our website to receive one monthly fundraising email from [organization]. See your consent record or stop these messages at [link].”
- AFTER CONTACT
Make it easy to get off the list.
Let people withdraw for free by sender, purpose, or channel. Carry the request through to contractors and vendors. Give people a way to inspect where their data came from, who received it, and what profiles were built from it. Honor valid corrections and removals downstream, and keep any minimum record needed to prevent re-enrollment restricted to that purpose.
For voter outreach and public-facing personal databases, see the proposal to clear existing lists and earn fresh consent.
02 EXCEPTIONS AND ENFORCEMENT
Keep the exception narrow.
When an organization contacts people without permission, it should have to show what justified the contact and answer for misuse.
CATASTROPHIC EMERGENCIES
Warn the people in danger.
Allow an unsolicited warning only when necessary for an imminent or unfolding catastrophic threat to life or public safety. Identify the sender, document the reason, and limit the audience, content, and duration to the protective purpose. Routine announcements, voting reminders, political appeals, and fundraising stay outside this exception. Handle legally required notices separately and keep optional outreach out of them.
PROVEN VIOLATIONS
Compensate the people affected.
Give regulators and courts tools to order corrections and removal, escalate consequences for repeat violations, and award compensation directly to the people affected. Spell out how the remedies apply to government bodies and require notice, evidence review, and a fair opportunity to contest a claim.
03 SEND A REQUEST YOURSELF
Put your privacy request in writing.
Use the original Opt-In Movement draft to ask an organization to stop contacting you, explain what it holds, and remove data it no longer needs. Edit the placeholders and include only the details the organization needs to identify the affected record.
Your draft stays in this browser tab. The editor lets you copy it and choose where to send it.
04 PROPOSAL AND CURRENT RULES
Where federal rules stand today.
The FTC’s guide describes opt-out requirements for commercial email. Federal rules already require consent for certain calls and texts. The universal opt-in standard and remedies above are proposals. Use the privacy request to ask a sender what it can do and what it needs to retain.
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See the Privacy Campaign’s letters to lawmakers and candidates