Canada's Anti-Spam Law Coming Into Force

By enacting what may be the most comprehensive anti-spam law in the world, Canada's Parliament has placed new and significant obligations on businesses that communicate and market electronically.

Known as Canada's Anti-Spam Law, or CASL¹, the new rules go much further than restricting bulk, unsolicited e-mail messages, by creating an express consent regime that applies to almost all e-mails and other electronic messages sent for a commercial purpose. And unlike the U.S. CAN-SPAM Act, which applies only to e-mail, CASL's anti-spam provisions also apply to other forms of electronic communication, such as text messages, instant messaging and social media messaging.

CASL was passed in December 2010 and is awaiting proclamation. Draft regulations that provide rules important to ensuring compliance regarding the content of notices and consents were published for comment by the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on June 30, 2011 (and in