This is for email marketing, not cold emails. Email marketing refers to using automated systems to send emails to a list. A cold email is a human sending an email individually. They might use a template or software to aid in creation, but each email is sent to an individual separately. You might think that this sounds identical, but it isn't.
It is true, no matter how many times you claim that it isn't. Can you name one single salesperson who has ever been prosecuted for this? Active consent is required for email marketing in the US too. It's not required for me to send a cold email to someone whose email address I acquired (or could guess).