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.
