ISED suspends CASL lawsuit rules

The federal government is suspending rules in Canada’s anti-spam legislation (CASL) that would make it possible to for lawsuits to be filed against individuals and organizations for breaking the rules. In a press release Wednesday, Innovation Canada said the private right of action (PRA) provisions that were supposed to be in effect as of July 1 are on hold and will be reviewed by a parliamentary committee. According to a government backgrounder on the law, the private right of action provision would “allow an applicant to seek actual and statutory damages” unless the “person or organization against whom the contravention is alleged has entered into an undertaking or has been served with a Notice of Violation.” “Canadians deserve to be protected from spam and other electronic threats so that they can have confidence in digital technology. At the same time, businesses, charities and other non-profit groups should have reasonable ways to communicate electronically with Canadians,” Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains said in the release. “We have listened to the concerns of stakeholders and are committed to striking the right balance.” The legislation, which is administered by the CRTC, came into effect in 2014. Exemptions for charities and business-to-business communications are already enshrined in the law. In a separate press release Wednesday, the Canadian Marketing Association called the announcement “good news.” It said it “spearheaded a business coalition with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce to communicate with government policy-makers the widespread concern about the anticipated negative impacts of the PRA,” and that over the past few years it “created a series of submissions and led numerous meetings with officials and the Minister's office in persuading the Minister to act on this matter today.” Last year, CRTC Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais told the association that laws would get tougher and urged marketers to comply.

ISED suspends CASL lawsuit rules

Brief | June 8, 2017

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ISED suspends CASL lawsuit rules

Brief | June 8, 2017

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