Moore set to move on anti-spam, experts say

Canadian businesses should “dust off their copy” of Canada’ long-delayed anti-spam laws as Industry Minister James Moore is preparing to move on the file, experts say. Passed into law in December 2010, Canada’s anti-spam laws have stalled during the implementation process as the CRTC and Industry Canada consulted on a pair of draft regulations related to the law—first in June 2012, then again in January this year—neither of which resulted in new regulations coming into force. There were no further developments for months, until Moore, who became industry minister as part of a larger cabinet shuffle in July, invited stakeholders to a meeting last week to hear their concerns. “Everybody’s wondering what’s happening with it,” John Lawford, executive director of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), said in an interview last week after attending the meeting. “I suspect in giving it this much importance, it’s going to move … People should dust off their copy of the bill and start thinking about implementing it," he said. Under the anti-spam laws, Canadian businesses would face new restrictions on how they use electronic communications to attract new business. Among other stipulations, the law would require businesses to gain consumers’ consent before sending them electronic sales pitches, and would limit their ability to collect and use caches of email addresses and other contact info of potential customers with whom they don’t already have a commercial relationship. Critics have said the bill will prevent companies from following up on legitimate business opportunities, deter them from delivering useful information to their customers, and could open the door to class-action lawsuits against small businesses that inadvertently break the law. Michael Geist, the Canada research chair in Internet and e-commerce law at the University of Ottawa and a proponent of the bill, has countered that companies can easily avoid those consequences by obtaining consumers’ permission before contacting them using electronic communications. Anti-spam bill critic Barry Sookman, a partner with McCarthy Tetrault in Toronto, said he believes Moore’s meeting with stakeholders signals that he is intent on making progress on the file. Industry Canada, Sookman said, is well aware of critics’ concerns, and must now figure out what, if anything, should be done to address them. “It’s really with the minister to decide what’s the best approach,” he said. “I think it is a high priority now for the government to get it done. The legislation was passed in December 2010, and I think now minister Moore does want to move it forward.” Lawford agreed that the law will become a priority for the government, the Industry Department, and Moore himself this fall, even if it’s not yet clear how or when the file will move forward. “He’s coming in full speed,” he said of Moore. “It’s time to implement what Parliament wanted to. It’s been too long now. This act has been passed, so let’s move on, pass the regulations and let’s get it in place.” —With reporting by Nicholas Kyonka at nkyonka@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Moore set to move on anti-spam, experts say

Broadcast | September 17, 2013

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