CASL Compliance Becomes More Complex

We have noted that Canada's Anti-Spam legislation (CASL) is complex, onerous and ambiguous. In the face of the uncertainties created under the CASL regime, organizations seeking to comply with the law still await substantial independent court interpretation of the legislative or regulatory requirements.

Further uncertainty arises as the regulator, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), interprets the requirements of CASL in a manner that sometimes does not appear specifically prescribed in CASL itself.

Section 3(1) of the Electronic Commerce Protection Regulations, Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2012-183, requires that the unsubscribe mechanism referred to in section 6(2)(c) of the act must be set out "clearly and prominently". Section 3(2) also requires that the unsubscribe mechanism must be able to be "readily performed".