VWCanadian Anti Spam Law (CASL)
Hello Everyone!
With CASL starting up right around the corner, July 1, I wanted to see how y'all were handling different aspects of the law. As I know it is pretty explicit that the best route to go is with expressed consent, however I was not sure how that effected contacting prospects. As (1) you don't have a prior business relationship (2) you don't have any sort of consent, implied or expressed (3) you probably don't have someone in common to introduce you. So how, legally, would you contact prospects?
I looked all over the below sites and could not find anything:
Canada's Law on Spam and Other Electronic Threats -> http://fightspam.gc.ca/eic/site/030.nsf/eng/home
Full Text of CASL -> http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/E-1.6/index.html
Government of Canada Introduces CASL -> https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/ecic-ceac.nsf/eng/gv00521.html
CRTC 3 Simple Rules of CASL -> http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/casl-lcap.htm
Any ideas are greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much!
VW
Here's another good writeup on the CASL from GetResponse: http://blog.getresponse.com/canadas-new-anti-spam-act-need-know.html
I appreciate the link, Jason!
Hi Veronica, My company is in the middle of some CASL compliance activities ourselves. Our ESP was super helpful (as much as they can be legally) with helping us figure out how it would change our marketing practices. Here's their ultimate checklist:
http://www.whatcounts.com/email-marketing-resources/white-papers/ultimate-checklist-casl-miniguide/
Hopefully this helps!
Thanks, Lauren! This is great information!
What I haven't been able to ascertain is whether it even applies to anyone outside of Canada, or what the consequences could be to an international company.
If you are emailing people in Canada, or using an ESP in Canada, CASL applies to you.
"Does section 6 of CASL apply to messages sent outside of Canada?
For section 6 of CASL to apply, a computer system located in Canada must be used to send or access the CEM. Simply routing a CEM through Canada is not enough to engage section 6."
http://www.wileyrein.com/publications.cfm?sp=articles&id=9428
http://fightspam.gc.ca/eic/site/030.nsf/eng/h_00050.html#Commercial
Thanks, do they have the jurisdiction to fine an overseas company?
The implied consent seems to be pretty easy to follow, in fact It seems that most businesses wont need to do a thing.
Well, as a Canadian I can tell you nobody here is trusting implied consent – I have received countless emails recently from a lot of big name brands requesting explicit expressed consent so they know who is safe to email on their lists. (Don't just trust the implied consent)
The big differences for CASL as opposed to can-spam seem to be that you need permission or some prior relationship before you can send any email, and you need to be able to prove how and when consent was received.
No idea about fines for overseas companies, better to ask a lawyer. If you have any Canadian subsidiaries be careful.
(Pre-caffeine reply, sorry about poor grammar)
Me again :D
I found what appears to be conflicting information on gaining express consent. In the below infographic it says after July 1 you are not able to use CEM (Commercial electronic messages) to obtain express consent:
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/com500/infograph2.htm
However, on the below page it says if you have an existing business or non-business relationship you have 3 years of implied consent to gain express consent (just click on 'Transition' to see what I mean:
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/com500/faq500.htm
So I am unsure if you can or can't send CEM's after July 1 to gain express consent or you have to use other means.
Any thoughts are appreciated.
Thanks!
VW
Hi Veronica,
Not a lawyer here, but my understanding is you can't cold-email people with no consent/prior relationship to gain express consent. If you have implied consent based on a previous business interaction, you can use the time you have implied consent to request express consent.
Nathan
The email you send to obtain express consent would not be a CEM, it must be non-commercial. So while you can send an email to obtain express consent, it can't be classed as a CEM
Hey Sam - I am not sure what a non-CEM would be? Is it just an email that identifies my business and asks for express consent, but does not try to sell or promote anything?