With spam defined as unsolicited bulk email, the CAN-SPAM act doesn't actually stop spammers from sending mail. It just makes it easier to identify marketing emails. Under CAN-SPAM, you can still send whatever unsolicited emails you want and thus be a spammer, but remain in compliance with CAN-SPAM.

Can-Spam Act unsolicited emails?

President George W. Bush signed CAN-SPAM into law to help protect U.S. consumers from malicious, unsolicited email. The acronym stands for “Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing.”

Is email spamming a crime?

Spam is a crime against all users of the Internet since it wastes both the storage and network capacities of ISPs, as well as often simply being offensive. ...