7 Practical Lessons From CRTC's First CASL Enforcement Decision

Although CASL has been in force since July 1, 2014, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission ("CRTC") has conducted its investigations and levied its penalties in a generally non-public manner. Until now, the CRTC's Compliance and Enforcement branch had publicly commented on only one Notice of Violation ("NoV") under CASL. We understand that an undisclosed number of other NoVs have been issued without public comment.

All other public CASL enforcement actions have taken the form of negotiated "undertakings" which are forms of settlements reached in confidential, closed door negotiations with the enforcement branch. This atmosphere of secrecy has made it difficult for organizations across Canada to understand the law and assess their risks.