If you’re a business owner, marketer or conduct any business in Canada, you’re undoubtedly aware of the proposed changes to Canada’s anti-spam law (CASL).
CASL prohibits the sending of unsolicited commercial electronic messages (CEMs) without prior consent of the recipient and provides rules regarding the manner in which such messages may be sent. The legislation is expected to come into force in late 2013.
The legislation imposes significant monetary penalties for the sending of unsolicited CEMs, the alteration of transmission data, and the unauthorized installation of computer programs. Financial penalties range up to $1 million for an individual and up to $10 million for a business per violation.
On January 5, Industry Canada released its newest version of the proposed regulations, accepting comments until February 4.
For the past month, businesses and groups from across the country have been expressing their concerns by taking action with a campaign against the legislation.
Though we can all agree that excessive spam is not a good thing, businesses are concerned about the strict requirements, costs to implement and hefty fines for mistakes.
For more information, review the full proposed law and the official site.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has taken a hard stance against the legislation and provided a summary of the law and action you can take.
Though it’s past the deadline to submit comments to Industry Canada, you can still contact your member of parliament.
What do you think about the CASL? Let us know in the comments section.
