Canada's Updated Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL)
CASL or Canada's updated Anti Spam Legislation takes effect this July 1st 2017.
Canada's anti-spam legislation (CASL) first came into effect July 1, 2014. It is in place to protect Canadians while ensuring that businesses can continue to compete in the global marketplace.
If you use electronic channels to promote or market your organization, products or services, Canada's new anti-spam law may affect you.
A full list of what the new law prohibits can be found here.
Though there have been previous updates and changes to the legislation since it's first appearance in 2010 and enforcement in 2014, the changes coming this July will now allow for the CRTC (Canadian Radio-Television Comission) to take action.
What does taking action mean?
Simply put, legitimate complaints about unsolicited emails may be turned over to the CRTC, which in turn may investigate to determine if the message violates CASL.
If you or your organization are judged to be in violation of the Anti-Spam Legislation, the CRTC, which now has the ability to take action, has a multitude of enforcement options available.
As of right now, there are no automatic penalties for violations as the CRTC judges each case based on a series of factors. Some of the factors taken into consideration include: the nature of the violation, your history with CASL, whether you benefited financially from the violation and your ability to pay a penalty.
Penalties for the most serious violations of the Act can go as high as $1 million for individuals and $10 million for businesses. Civil cases cannot be brought before the courts until July 2017.