Express consent
Permission a person gives actively and knowingly before receiving marketing mail, such as by ticking an unchecked box. EU law requires it for marketing email to individuals.
What it means
The GDPR defines consent as a freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the person's wishes, by a statement or clear affirmative action. France's CNIL adds that it must be as easy to withdraw as it was to give, and says a pre-ticked box is not valid. The ePrivacy Directive requires such prior consent for marketing email to individuals, except for the soft opt-in.
Canada's CASL accepts express or implied consent and defines when implied consent applies. CAN-SPAM does not require prior consent for commercial email at all, only an opt-out.
Consent belongs to the company it was given to: M3AAWG says it is not transferable to other parties or to other channels. Record what was shown and when.
Related terms
Sources
What this definition rests on. The wording is ours; the facts are theirs.
- EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR)eur-lex.europa.eu
- CNIL: Le consentementcnil.fr
- EUR-Lex: Directive 2002/58/EC (ePrivacy), consolidated texteur-lex.europa.eu
- Justice Laws Website: Canada's anti-spam legislation (S.C. 2010, c. 23)laws-lois.justice.gc.ca
- M3AAWG Position on Selling Email Address Lists (June 2019)m3aawg.org
- M3AAWG Position on Cold Email (November 2025)m3aawg.org
All 432 terms in the glossaryThe wiki: blocklists and bounce codes