New Anti-"Spam" Law

Shortly before the holidays, Parliament assented to An Act to promote the efficiency and adaptability of the Canadian economy by regulating certain activities that discourage reliance on electronic means of carrying out commercial activities [...] which will regulate the transmission of unsolicited commercial electronic messages, also known as spam. This law, which should come into force by decree in the next few months, will prohibit the transmission to an electronic address (including by way of instant messaging) of a commercial electronic message unless the person to whom the message is sent has consented to receiving it, whether expressly or implicitly, or the message conforms to the prescribed requirements with respect to its form. These requirements, which remain to be specified, may cover the inclusion of prescribed information that identifies the person who sent the message, enables the person receiving the message to communicate directly with the sender and