Mailchimp requires users to send messages only to contacts who have provided affirmative permission, and prohibits importing purchased, scraped, or rented contact lists. Users bear sole responsibility for ensuring their campaigns comply with applicable email marketing and data protection laws.
This analysis describes what Mailchimp's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
This provision establishes a permission-based contact requirement and prohibits common list acquisition methods, making users solely responsible for regulatory compliance under CAN-SPAM, CASL, GDPR, and similar laws, while placing enforcement authority and account action decisions with Mailchimp.
Under this clause, users who import contacts obtained through purchasing, scraping, or renting may have their accounts suspended or terminated. The sole responsibility assignment means users bear legal compliance obligations for anti-spam and data protection laws applicable to their campaigns, without Mailchimp assuming co-responsibility.
How other platforms handle this
You agree not to post, upload, publish, submit or transmit any content that: (i) infringes, misappropriates or violates a third party's patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, moral rights or other intellectual property rights, or rights of publicity or privacy; (ii) violates, or encourages any ...
In addition to these Terms, you also agree to: Our Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP"): https://legal.kajabi.com/policies/aup
Your use of the Llama Materials must comply with applicable laws and regulations (including trade compliance laws and regulations) and adhere to the Acceptable Use Policy for the Llama 3 models (currently available at https://llama.meta.com/llama3/use-policy), which is hereby incorporated by referen...
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"You may only send messages to people who have given you permission to contact them, whether that's in person, on your website, or through a sign-up form. Mailchimp prohibits importing, uploading, or otherwise using email addresses that you have obtained through scraping, purchasing, renting, exchanging, or any other means that violates our Acceptable Use Policy. You are solely responsible for ensuring that your use of the Service complies with all applicable laws and regulations, including those related to email marketing, data protection, and privacy.— Excerpt from Mailchimp's Mailchimp Standard Terms of Use
(1) REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: This provision directly engages CAN-SPAM (FTC enforcement), CASL (CRTC enforcement), GDPR consent requirements (EU supervisory authorities), and CCPA. The sole responsibility assignment for legal compliance is operationally significant in jurisdictions where regulators may hold platform operators jointly responsible for facilitating non-compliant campaigns. (2) GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: Medium. The prohibition on purchased or scraped lists is standard in email platform agreements. The sole responsibility clause creates a contractual framework in which Mailchimp asserts it bears no compliance co-responsibility for user campaigns, though regulatory enforcement in the EU and Canada may not necessarily accept this allocation. (3) JURISDICTION FLAGS: Canadian users face heightened exposure under CASL, which imposes express consent requirements more stringent than US CAN-SPAM. EU and UK users must ensure GDPR-compliant consent mechanisms are in place for all subscriber data imported into Mailchimp. California users should assess CCPA implications for subscriber data handling. (4) CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: B2B users deploying Mailchimp on behalf of clients should assess whether client contact lists meet the permission standards required by this provision, as account-level violations by any user can trigger platform-wide suspension. Managed service providers and agencies operating multiple client sub-accounts face aggregated compliance exposure. (5) COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Organizations should conduct a contact list audit to confirm all imported contacts have provided affirmative permission consistent with applicable law and Mailchimp's requirements. Documentation of consent mechanisms should be maintained. The Data Processing Addendum should be executed for GDPR-compliant processing of EU subscriber data.
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This provision establishes a permission-based contact requirement and prohibits common list acquisition methods, making users solely responsible for regulatory compliance under CAN-SPAM, CASL, GDPR, and similar laws, while placing enforcement authority and account action decisions with Mailchimp.
Under this clause, users who import contacts obtained through purchasing, scraping, or renting may have their accounts suspended or terminated. The sole responsibility assignment means users bear legal compliance obligations for anti-spam and data protection laws applicable to their campaigns, without Mailchimp assuming co-responsibility.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 1 platforms. See the full comparison.
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