Canada getting tough on spam

Good thing I live in the U.S.A. sounds like a ridiculous law that is why there is a choice to opt-in to a list or not and a mandatory unsubscribe link for their convenience.

I think that is plenty sufficient!

Anything to make it tougher on small businesses sounds like something Google would do if they controlled our emails.

Crap wait a minute they own gmail

This is ridiculous. I'll just ignore if I told that I will be fined.

That's not fare i think someone sending you fake mails.Just Ignore it.

Sounds like extreme overkill! Do you at least get a trial?

This sounds very bad... I will skip any email such as that.

Its a good way to stimulate the economy. Make it increasingly difficult for the small entrepreneur to thrive.

I'm not entirely sure on what issues you face.

"Spam can be defined as any electronic commercial message sent without the express consent of the recipient(s). Spam is also used as the vehicle for the delivery of other online threats such as spyware, phishing and malware."

As long as you're ethically sending out emails, and not SPAMMIMG then you should not have any issues. Be honest with your subscribers and tell them that they will be apart of a scheduled email listing - if they have any issues then tell them that they are free to unsubscribe.

There is more official info here too:

Government of Canada Introduces Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) - Digital Policy Branch

It isn't much worse than other Spam laws like the U.S.

You need to use an opt-in and need to have an 'unsubscribe' link in each email.

One interesting item in the original article is you cannot have option boxes "Yes I want to receive..." pre-checked. The default must be "No" and the customer must actively check the box.

I know I spend a lot of time unchecking boxes and toolbar options when I'm updating anti-virus software and other programs.

From the FAQ at the above link:

I'm a legitimate business owner who uses bulk email to reach my customers. How will I be affected by these new anti-spam measures?
Legitimate businesses that use email to market their products to Canadians should not be negatively impacted by this law. The regime to allow for email marketing is based on a consumer opt-in approach, which stipulates that businesses must get consent prior to sending commercial email or have a pre-existing business relationship with a consumer.

(Almost the same as the U.S. and everybody else- people need to opt-in or have a previous relationship and you need to have an 'unsubscribe' option.)

What about text messages or "cellphone spam"? Is it covered?
Yes. With the new law's technology-neutral approach, all forms of commercial electronic messages can be treated the same way. That means that unsolicited text messages, or cellphone spam, is addressed.

(Paul's point)

What if I buy email lists? How will I be affected by these measures?
The law does not prohibit the legitimate collection and compiling of lists of email addresses, provided the activity follows the rules regarding consent and other principles that apply within federal and provincial privacy laws.

Federal privacy legislation, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), sets out the rules for collection, use and disclosure of such personal information and these continue to apply under the new act.

(This has to do with Canadian privacy laws for using personal information.)

There is also a Canadian Gov't website dedicated to the Anti-Spam legislation:

Home - Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation

I say "Don't panic" but then I'm Canadian and we never panic LOL

Mahlon

I don't know why so many of you are getting your panties all in a twist.
It's simple, if you play by the rules you have nothing to worry about, if you
don't you'll get zapped...