by Garnet Brooks, Business Lawyer, Halifax

Canada’s new Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) and how it will affect Businesses and Entrepreneurs

Do you use email to promote your business, or send email that others could perceive as having a business-like purpose? If so, you will probably want to learn more about Canada’s new Anti-Spam Law which is about to come into force.

On July 1, 2014, Canada’s new law, known as CASL, will come into effect. This article will provide a brief overview CASL insofar as it addresses the sending of email messages which have a business or commercial purpose, and how it will affect small businesses, in particular those which use internet & email marketing systems.

Background

CASL is the short name, the full name of the legislation is:

An Act to promote the efficiency and adaptability of the Canadian economy by regulating certain activities that discourage reliance on electronic means of carrying out commercial activities, and to amend the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications.

The law is premised on the idea that historically the sending of commercial electronic messages (a “CEM”) has been unregulated. This lack of regulation led to abusive practises such as the sending out of unsolicited commercial emails, and then in turn the mass sending of unsolicited commercial emails (“spam”).

Harmless, yet annoying spam, being that which is solely intended to put an offer before a potential customer to gain their click is ...

 

Tags: Anti-Spam Legislation, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications, CASL, commercial electronic messages, Entrepreneur Law, featured, Income Tax Act, Malware, Spammer