Canada's Anti-Spam Law (CASL)
Background
Organizations that wish to engage Canadian consumers via commercial electronic messages (CEMs) such as text, emails, social media and instant messages must be aware of Canada's Anti-Spam Law (CASL) and the requirements it sets out for companies that wish to market via CEMs. A CEM is any "electronic message intended to encourage participation in a commercial activity, regardless of whether there is an expectation of profit; if the purpose or one of the purposes is to advertise, promote, market, or otherwise offer a product, good, service, business, or gaming opportunity or interest in land." CASL requires express consent in order to send a CEM.
Some express consent considerations impacting the delivery of CEMs include:
- Express consent can only be obtained when the message recipient takes a positive action to indicate his or her willingness to receive CEMs
- Express consent is valid indefinitely or until consent is revoked
- Separate consent is obtained for each act that would require express consent
- Any unsubscribe request or opt out is processed within 10 days
Potential Risks
The maximum penalty is $1 million CAD for individuals and up to $10 million CAD for corporations, per violation.
How We Can Help
Our qualified experts understand the impact the CASL requirements can have on your operations and will work with you to achieve compliance while facilitating your sales and marketing goals.
Failure to comply with relevant legislation can have a significant impact on your business. Don't take chances - let our experts help! CompliancePoint has a variety of services that companies can leverage to meet their CASL Compliance goals.
If your company is sending or intends to send non-exempt text messages to Canadian residents, the Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) must be considered.
