Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation – 2020 Year In Review

In 2020, the Federal Court of Appeal and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission issued important decisions and guidance regarding the validity and interpretation of Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (commonly known as "CASL").

CASL

CASL creates a comprehensive regime of offences, enforcement mechanisms and potentially severe penalties designed to prohibit the sending of unsolicited commercial electronic messages (CEMs), the unauthorized commercial installation and use of computer programs on another person's computer system, and other forms of online fraud. Following are some key aspects of CASL:

• CASL creates an opt-in regime that prohibits, subject to limited exceptions, the sending of a CEM unless the recipient has given consent (express or implied in limited circumstances) to receive the CEM and the CEM complies with prescribed formalities (e.g., information about the sender and an effective and promptly implemented