[robmclarty]

These new rules seem reasonable and no different from what businesses are/should already be doing.

Does "consent" apply to websites which add an "opt in" checkbox but check it off by default and hope that nobody sees it?

This really irritates me and I would argue does not constitute my having given my consent to receive emails. That said, I don't see an easy way to distinguish this kind of practice from a legitimate opt-in checkbox.

[kl4m]

No, consent must be explicitely request, so the checkbox must be unchecked by default, or else it's considered merely harvesting the e-mail address.