Canada already has one of the world’s strictest regimes regulating commercial electronic messages, and, just in time for the country’s 150th birthday, the consequences for breach are about to get much more severe. On July 1, 2017, this regime will add additional teeth in the form of a private right of action, which could drastically increase the threat of legal proceedings and financial consequences for those who violate it.
Until July 1, 2017 the primary concern is that violations of Canada’s Anti-Spam Law (“CASL”) would be prosecuted by the bodies responsible for its enforcement (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (the “CRTC”), the Competition Bureau, and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner). After July 1, 2017 those who send commercial electronic messages also face the risk of class proceedings specifically permitted by CASL.
What is CASL?
CASL creates a broad and comprehensive set of offences, enforcement mechanisms and penalties applicable to a number of activities, including the unauthorized installation of computer programs on computers and electronic devices, the alteration of transmission data and various other forms of online fraud…
Marko Vesely – Western Canada Business Litigation Blog – April 6, 2017.
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