Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation is among the toughest anti-spam laws in the world and is now in effect as of July 1, 2014. Ensure you and your company are compliant.
CASL Webinar: Highlights
CASL Webinar: Full
- You should become familiar with the provisions of CASL. There are lots of resources online including our February 2013 Knowledge Bytes article and http://www.fightspam.gc.ca, which was set up by the Government of Canada to help businesses and individuals become CASL compliant.
- You should get as many express consents as possible before July 1, 2014. Many companies are emailing their current subscriber lists and obtaining a new express consent from each subscriber. The onus is on senders to prove they have the consent of recipients and most subscriber databases are not sufficient to establish the recipients’ consent. After July 1, 2014, any email asking for consent is deemed to be a commercial electronic message (CEM). In other words, you must have the recipients’ consent to ask them for consent.
- In the absence of express consent you should review the situations where implied consent or an exemption may apply to the CEM’s you intend to send.
- In addition to obtaining the recipients’ consent, you must ensure that all CEMs you send comply with all formalities required under CASL, including supplying information regarding the sender and attaching a functional unsubscribe mechanism.
- You should review and revise your marketing, advertising and external electronic mailing communication practices to ensure they comply with CASL and the CASL-amended PIPEDA and Competition Act. For example, there is guidance on how to obtain express consent under CASL. Establishing formal policies and procedures will be helpful should it be necessary to rely on a due diligence defence, which is permitted under CASL.
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Clark Wilson Resources
- Preparing for Canada’s Anti-Spam Law, Knowledge Bytes, February 2013
- Canada’s New Anti-Spam Legislation by Maggie Cavallin
External Resources
- Government of Canada http://www.fightspam.gc.ca CASL resources
If Clark Wilson LLP can assist you with setting up policies and procedures, please contact Victor Dudas at 604.891.7786 or vzd@cwilson.com.