The Government of Canada has suspended the provisions that would have allowed lawsuits to be filed against individuals and organizations for alleged violations of Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) as of July 1, 2017. A parliamentary committee has been asked to review the legislation.
Background:
Since 2014, to comply with CASL when sending commercial electronic messages (CEMs) (including email, text messages and messages sent through your social networks), you’ve been required to ensure that:
- your recipients have provided implied or express consent to receive your electronic messages,
- you include identification of who you are as the sender, and
- you include a link for recipients to unsubscribe to your messages.
Additionally, in alignment with changes to the federal Competition Act, false or misleading representations in electronic messages (such as in email or texts, and on social media, websites and apps) has been prohibited.
Currently, only regulators can impose fines related to CEMs and advertising.
More information:
- Government of Canada news release on suspending private right of action
- Visit CREA’s Anti-Spam page on REALTOR Link® for more information and support materials, including a Compliance Flow Chart.