The text of the e-mail, which plays on the wide-spread
criticisms of the RIP Act, read:
We are sending this mail to inform you that
you have been reported to this office for repeated infringements of
the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA). According
to records obtained from your Internet Service Provider under the
enforcement powers granted to this office, you have used your
Internet connection to access material of a violent, sexually
explicit or immoral nature on 42 separate occasions. This
constitutes an explicit breach of the acceptable use guidelines
laid down by the Act and you may therefore be liable to criminal
prosecution.
Full details of the offences have been
passed to your local police authority. If criminal proceedings
result, you will shortly be informed of this in writing. If you
wish to appeal these charges, application must be made to the RIPA
office within seven days. Appellants may register their
counterclaims online using the link below. Further details and a
list of your statutory rights is also available on this page.
Some recipients objected that, by presenting the e-mail as an
official document, the advertisement caused undue fear and
distress. Emap, the publishers behind MaxPower, apologised for any
offence caused by the e-mail. According to a statement by the
ASA:
"[Emap] explained that the e-mail had been
sent to 50,000 registered users of the Maxpower web site and all
registered users had submitted their personal details to
Maxpower.co.uk in return for access to products and services. They
believed that their target audience of 18-to 25-year-old men was
familiar with the brand values associated with Maxpower and thought
those who received the e-mail would have realised that it was a
practical joke."
Emap admitted that it might have misjudged the sensitivity of
some of its readers but pointed out that of the 50,000 recipients
of the e-mail, only seven had complained. Emap sent letters of
apology to those who complained and removed their personal details
from the mailing list on request.
The ASA acknowledged that recipients would understand the e-mail
was a practical joke once they had followed the link. However, the
ASA considered that “at first glance the e-mail misleadingly
implied that it was an official document and could embarrass or
distress recipients.” The Authority asked Emap to avoid such an
approach in future and “welcomed their assurance that they would
exercise caution in future e-mail marketing campaigns
