Canadian companies have to prove they’re not spammers
Canadian businesses warned to keep proper consent records to comply with anti-spam law
Starting next July, Canadians who feel they were spammed in violation of Canada’s Anti-spam Legislation (CASL) will be able to sue the companies that sent them the unwanted messages.
Canadian businesses are therefore being reminded that it’s not sufficient to just get the consent of the recipients of emails, e-flyers, newsletters and other electronic messages with a commercial nature. They must be able to produce records that prove they received that consent.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) recently issued a reminder to businesses that they’re required to keep proper records of the consent they receive.
During investigation of complaints against Canadian companies for alleged CASL breaches, CRTC staff have found that some businesses are unable to prove that they received the consent of recipients to send them electronic messages.
Breaching CASL is no small thing, as some Canadian companies have already discovered. The law came into effect in July 2014, forbidding the sending of any electronic messages that have a commercial purpose, unless they have the consent of the receiver. Businesses that violate the law can face fines of up to C$10 million (US$7.58), while individuals can be hit with a C$1 million (US$757,807) maximum penalty.
CASL was widely viewed by the business community as heavy-handed and onerous, because it went far beyond US anti-spam legislation. It required all businesses to get either the expressed or implied consent of recipients to continue to receive things like newsletters and emails.
If a company had an ongoing business relationship with a client, for example, that could be deemed to be implied consent.