Canada’s Anti Spam Legislation (CASL) is a Canadian law intended to deter Spam, Phishing, Identity Theft, Spyware and other malicious or deceptive breaches to privacy. It is a very important legislation that helps to protect the privacy rights and personal information of Canadians, and will take effect on July 1, 2014.
How does CASL affect my B2B Marketing Campaign?
- All Commercial Electronic Messages (CEMs) that go out via email, social media, and text (phone), must abide by the strict CASL rules
- The legislation does not just apply to all CEMs received in Canada, but also to all marketers sending CEMs from Canada
- If your business launches a commercial campaign, even if you do not have any misguided intentions, you have to be sure to follow strict regulations, otherwise you run the risk of monetary penalties, and even criminal sanctions!
How can I ensure my business is CASL Compliant?
Consent:
- All businesses must have gained Express or Implied Consent for every name on their list, and be able to prove that they received consent. For example, by keeping track of information such as the date and manner in which consent was obtained
- Express consent must be opt-in, not opt-out. For example, a subscriber must proactively check off an empty box to provide their consent. The check box must not already be checked, forcing them to uncheck to provide their lack of consent
- Consent for CEMs cannot be bundled with consent for Terms and Conditions. For example, persons must be able to grant their consent to terms and conditions or sale while refusing to grant their consent for receiving CEMs
Image on the left illustrates Opt-Out consent, where the check box is already checked, forcing one to uncheck to provide their lack of consent. Image on the right illustrates Opt-In consent, where subscribers must proactively check off an empty box to provide their consent. CASL only endorses Opt-In consent.
Unsubscribes
- The option to “unsubscribe” must be prominently displayed in your emails, must be user friendly and must be able to be “readily performed.” For example, a link in an email that takes the user to a web page where he or she can unsubscribe from receiving all or some types of CEMs from the sender
- Ensure you scrub your list of any unsubscribed recipients prior to sending a new email
- Quick Tip: Allowing recipients to unsubscribe easily is not only the law: its good business. If “unsubscribe” is not easy to see, recipients might mark your emails as Spam/Junk, which in turn can hurt your Sender Reputation, landing you in the spam blacklist of email clients
Identification
- When sending a CEM, the sender (or the person on whose behalf the message is being sent) must always be identified with their mailing address and either a telephone number, email address or web address
- If the message is sent on behalf of multiple senders, all must be identified with contact info
- Contact info and mailing address must be valid for a minimum of 60 days from the date the message is sent
- Your Privacy Policy must always be available, clear, and up to date
Click here for CRTC's compliancy tips
CASL and GamePlan
Compliancy is serious, and GamePlan strongly endorses all privacy regulations. Contact us now to see how we can help safely transform your company through outstanding B2B marketing services!
We are always here to keep you posted on updated rules and regulations that govern online marketing. However, this information is not meant to be interpreted as legal advice and if you have specific legal questions, we recommend that you contact your attorney.
