Anti-Spam legislation delayed

On December 4, Industry Canada announced a delay in its new Anti-Spam legislation (CASL) which will now come into force on July 1, 2014. Bill C-28 provides tough new penalties and sets out some aggressive standards for how companies can use personal information for marketing purposes. 

On December 15, 2010, Royal Assent was given to an Act to promote the efficiency and adaptability of the Canadian economy by regulating certain activities that discourage reliance on electronic means of carrying out commercial activities. The fundamental and underlying principle of the Act is that such activities may only be carried out with the consent of the recipient. Once the law comes into effect, it will help to protect Canadians while ensuring businesses can continue to compete in the global marketplace. 

Under the new legislation: 

• The sending of commercial electronic messages (CEM) to communicate with consumers and subscribers will require consent from the recipient;
• alteration of transmission data in a CEM which results in the message being delivered to a different destination will require the recipient's consent; 
• companies will have to identify themselves in their messages and provide a way for recipients to unsubscribe from receiving further emails; 
• installation of computer programs without the express consent of the owner of the computer system or its agent will be prohibited;
• use of false or misleading representation online in the promotion of products or services will be prohibited;
• address harvesting - collection of addresses by the use of computer programs or the use of such addresses without permission will be prohibited.

On January 1, 2015, sections of the Act related to the unsolicited installation of computer programs or software comes into force. The Act will begin to take effect on July 1, 2014 when most of the Act comes into force. Once the law is in force, it will help to protect Canadians while ensuring that businesses can continue to compete in the global marketplace. On January 15, 2015, sections of the Act related to the unsolicited installation of computer programs or software come into force, and the Private Right of Action provisions will come into force on July 1, 2017.

CANADA'S ANTI-SPAM LEGISLATION