Canada’s Anti-Spam Law Takes Effect on July 1

Canada's new anti-spam law, designed to protect consumers while allowing businesses to continue competing in the global marketplace, will take effect on July 1, 2014, according to a Canadian government website. On January 15, 2015, sections of the Act related to the unsolicited installation of computer programs or software come into force.

The new law will generally prohibit the:

• sending of commercial electronic messages without the recipient’s consent, including messages to email addresses and social networking accounts, and text messages;

• alteration of transmission data in an electronic message which results in the message being delivered to a different destination without express consent;

• installation of computer programs without the express consent of the computer system’s owner or its agent, such as an authorized employee;

• use of false or misleading representations online in the promotion of products or services;

• collection of personal information through accessing a computer system in violation of federal law (e.g. the Criminal Code of Canada); and

• collection of electronic addresses by the use of computer programs, or the use of such addresses, without permission (address harvesting).

Three federal agencies will enforce the law: The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the Competition Bureau, and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

For more information about the law, visit fightspam.gc.ca or CRTC.ca.