Image Credit: Roobcio/Shutterstock
Canada has been called the “Great White North,” but starting July 1, it’s also poised to become the Great Spam-Free North.
That’s when Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) – one of the toughest laws of its kind in the world – reaches the end of a three-year transition period and its “private right of action” provisions take effect.
This means anyone who receives an unsolicited commercial electronic message — including emails, text messages, instant messages, and direct messages on social media — can pursue legal action against the sender. Fines are $200 per message, in addition to millions of dollars in penalties that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission can impose.
CASL’s impact stretches well beyond Canada’s borders because it applies not only to Canadian commercial email marketers but to those elsewhere sending messages to Canadian subscribers – so in effect anyone doing business in Canada (with some exceptions for political parties and charities). This means the stakes are high for marketers in the neighboring United States and around the world.
Under CASL, a business cannot send an email without explicit opt-in consent from the recipient or an existing relationship defined by certain parameters, such as a purchase in the preceding two years or an inquiry in the…