CRTC Releases Much-Needed Guidance On CASL's Computer Program Provisions

Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), which came into force in July this year and targets unsolicited commercial electronic messages, also aims to curtail malicious software such as malware and spyware. CASL achieves this objective by requiring express consent for the installation of computer programs on another person's computer system and mandating enhanced disclosure and consent if the software performs certain prescribed functions. These provisions, contained in section 8 of CASL, will come into force on January 15, 2015, and have been extensively discussed in both the legal and the tech communities, because section 8 applies to far more than the software conventionally understood to be spyware or malware.