Is your business marketing the right way? Are you complying with the anti-spam law?
As Canadian consumers gain experience with Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), they increasingly expect organizations to obtain appropriate consent before sending them commercial electronic messages. CASL was created to protect Canadians against spam without taking away their ability to thrive in today’s global market place. This law passed in December 2010 and entered force July 1st 2014. Since then, we have seen a 37 per cent decrease in Canadian-based spam. However, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business performed a recent survey which showed that most small business owners still got a great deal to learn about CASL and its regulations. Their results concluded that only 15 per cent of small business owners are aware of CASL’s requirements and that 62 per cent of owners have not changed their ways to comply with the law. Not complying with the law may have some serious consequences. Violation to comply to this law, an individual can receive a penalty as high as $1-million and for a company, they can receive a penalty as high as $10-million.
CASL contains prohibitions against both collections of electronic addresses through address harvesting or the installation of malware, as well as use of such emails. Therefore, when you purchase or rent email addresses, are you doing your due diligence to ensure your supplier obtained appropriate consent? Does your business have the appropriate procedures in place to meet those expectations, and your obligations under CASL?
In collaboration with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) and Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), ICTC will be hosting a webinar about Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) for small businesses including some top speakers sharing their experiences about investigations under CASL and information on how to comply with the law.
This presentation will be an excellent opportunity to clarify all these questions and for you to gather all the necessary answers to steer your small business in the right direction and to comply with Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation.
The Webinar will take place on September 20th at 12 pm EST. To register, please click HERE, and be sure to check back for more information on webinars, digital summits, and other cutting edge, high tech events.
For more information, please contact talent(a)ictc-ctic.ca.