A US Postal Service regulation requires that any mail containing personal information, specific to an addressee, to be sent at First-Class or Express Mail rates.

In 2004, a credit card firm printed "Personal -- Do Not Throw Away" on all its junk mail envelopes, even though the advertisements inside contained nothing personal - each piece of junk mail being identical to each other. They printed the false statement ("Personal ...") hoping it would encourage  folks to open their mailings. The firm also wanted to pay cheaper bulk-rate postage to send it. 

Both the USPS and junk mailers know that unless we open the envelope, junk mail doesn't work. And if it doesn't work, the USPS will lose a major reason for its existence.  Indeed, in 2005,  junk mail is expected to become the largest segment of USPS volume.   So the USPS wants to protect it while earning as much as it can for delivering it. On the other hand, junk mailers want to pay the cheapest rates possible while optimizing its potential success. And, if junk mailers have to mislead residents in order to get them to open it, then that's what they may want to do. 

So in December 2004, the USPS did a little dance and 'ruled' that it's just dandy to send junk mail at bulk rate, even if the junk mail envelope implies it has personal information inside,... so long as it doesn't.  Specifically, the USPS ruled (in part),   "In this instance, there was no personal information in the mail piece, and, the mailing was determined to be eligible to be sent at the Standard [bulk] Mail rates".  

This USPS 'ruling' essentially condones what may be a violation of federal /state law.

An abridged version of the federal law, Title 18 U. S. Code  §1341, states:

Whoever, having devised any scheme for obtaining money by means of false representations, places in any post office, any matter or thing whatever to be sent or delivered by the Postal Service any such matter or thing, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.  If the violation affects a financial institution, such person shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both.

The unabridged statute is below, or you can read it on a US government website by clicking here.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service discuses this law at a website available here.

An abridged version of (for example) Illinois state law, 720 ILCS §295, states:

Sec. 1a.     Any corporation who, with intent to contract with reference to anything offered by such corporation directly or indirectly, to the public, or to contract with reference to any credit, publishes in this State in the form of a letter, or statement of any sort regarding anything so offered which advertisement contains any assertion, representation or statement of fact which is untrue, misleading or deceptive, shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.      Sec. 1d.    This Act shall not apply to any medium for or disseminating of advertising, or causing to be disseminated, such advertisement in good faith and without knowledge of the deceptive character thereof.

The unabridged statute is below, or you can read it on a Illinois state website by clicking here.

Are junk mailers making a 'false representation' when they proclaim that the contents of it's envelope is "Personal", when it really isn't? 

Here, the US Postal Service 'ruling' certainly did not protect the public but rather seems to bless junk mailers who lie to us. Beyond that, did the USPS approve and assist in a practice that violates criminal law?

What do YOU think?

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Federal Law:  Title18 - Part I  Crimes - Chapter 63 Mail Fraud - Section 1341 Frauds and swindles  (18 USC §1341)
Whoever, having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, or to sell, dispose of, loan, exchange, alter, give away, distribute, supply, or furnish or procure for unlawful use any counterfeit or spurious coin, obligation, security, or other article, or anything represented to be or intimated or held out to be such counterfeit or spurious article, for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice or attempting so to do, places in any post office or authorized depository for mail matter, any matter or thing whatever to be sent or delivered by the Postal Service, or deposits or causes to be deposited any matter or thing whatever to be sent or delivered by any private or commercial interstate carrier, or takes or receives there from, any such matter or thing, or knowingly causes to be delivered by mail or such carrier according to the direction thereon, or at the place at which it is directed to be delivered by the person to whom it is addressed, any such matter or thing, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.  If the violation affects a financial institution, such person shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both.

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Illinois Compiles Statutes     Criminal Offenses       720 ILCS 295/     Deceptive Advertising Act.
Sec. 1a.     Any person, firm, corporation or association or agent or employee thereof, who, with intent to sell, purchase, or in any wise dispose of, or to contract with reference to merchandise, securities, real estate, service, employment, money, credit or anything offered by such person, firm, corporation or association, or agent or employee thereof, directly or indirectly, to the public for sale, purchase, loan, distribution, or the hire of personal services, or with intent to increase the consumption of or to contract with reference to any merchandise, real estate, securities, money, credit, loan, service or employment, or to induce the public in any manner to enter into any obligation relating thereto, or to acquire title thereto, or an interest therein, or to make any loan, makes, publishes, disseminates, circulates, or places before the public, or causes, directly or indirectly, to be made, published, disseminated, circulated, or placed before the public, in this State, in a newspaper, magazine, or other publication, or in the form of a book, notice, handbill, poster, sign, bill, circular, pamphlet, letter, placard, card, label, or over any radio or television station, or in any other way similar or dissimilar to the foregoing, an advertisement, announcement, or statement of any sort regarding merchandise, securities, real estate, money, credit, service, employment, or anything so offered for use, purchase, loan or sale, or the interest, terms or conditions upon which such loan will be made to the public, which advertisement contains any assertion, representation or statement of fact which is untrue, misleading or deceptive, shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
Sec. 1b.    ...
Sec. 1c.    ...
Sec. 1d.    This Act shall not apply to any medium for the printing, publishing, or disseminating of advertising, or any owner, agent or employee thereof, nor to any advertising agency or owner, agent or employee thereof, nor to any radio or television station, or owner, agent, or employee thereof, for printing, publishing, or disseminating, or causing to be printed, published, or disseminated, such advertisement in good faith and without knowledge of the deceptive character thereof.

Also see Illinois Compiled Statutes:  BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS
815 ILCS §505/   Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.
815 ILCS §510/   Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act.  - [subsection 2a, para. (5) & (12)]