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There are less than two months before Canada's Anti-Spam
Legislation ("CASL") comes into force on July 1, 2014.
Despite its name, CASL covers much more than mass emails.
CASL is one of the toughest laws of its kind and will have a
significant impact on businesses and individuals who send
commercial electronic messages ("CEMs") to electronic
addresses. CEMs include emails, texts, messaging and social media
messages sent between businesses, from businesses to consumers or
even between individuals. In addition to other regulated
activities, CASL prohibits the sending of CEMs to a recipient
unless they have provided their consent and the message includes
certain prescribed information or it is subject to an
exemption.
For not for profit organizations, charities, associations and
many individuals, a key determination will be whether electronic
messages that they send are "commercial" in nature. This
is not dependant on the type of entity; rather this determination
is based on the nature of the message and whether it encourages
participation in a commercial activity, whether or not it involves
a profit.
The penalties for non-compliance with CASL are high. They
include monetary penalties of up to $10 million per violation for
corporations and up to $1 million per violation for individuals.
There is extended liability for directors and officers of
corporations who may be personally liable for corporate violations.
Corporations are vicariously liable for the actions of their
employees or agents. As a result, it is more important than ever
for businesses to ensure that they have appropriate policies,
procedures and systems in place to address this risk.
Miller Thomson LLP has developed a number of compliance tools to
assist organizations and individuals with their compliance work.
For organizations that are just getting started, our
CASL Compliance Preparedness Checklist for CEMs can assist you
to identify the steps to take to address internal compliance. Our
CASL Compliance – What You Need to Know reference tool
provides an overview of the legislation, key dates and
provisions.
For more information on CASL, please visit
Miller Thomson's CASL webpage, which includes links to
resources, articles, presentations and tools.
To read the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications
Commission's FAQs, please click here.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.
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Canada's Anti-Spam Law: Will Your Business Be Ready?
