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An academic email address seems to be a magnet for all kinds of spam, and while some of it is obvious grift, some is from otherwise legitimate companies. They will even often include an "unsubscribe" link, suggesting the onus is on the receiver to do so.

This question asks about whether one can find out how those companies got your email address and whether you can ask them to stop mailing you, both answered in the affirmative. This seems like too little, too late—surely, these companies should not be mailing me in the first place?

Is there any course of action I can take that may have further consequences for them?

My question is primarily written from an EU/GDPR perspective, but answers for companies or recipients in other jurisdictions are bound to be useful to someone, too.

Komi Golov
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There isn’t a personal cause of action

It is illegal to send marketing emails without the address owner’s permission. Such permission can be explicit or implicit (e.g. in the context of an ongoing customer relationship), but the onus is on the business to show they have permission.

Even where they do have permission, the email must identify the sender and make it easy to unsubscribe.

Where the law is breached, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is responsible for enforcement; the law does not create a private right to sue.

Dale M
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