Canada’s Anti-Spam Laws: A Year On

A little over a year since Canada introduced legislation intended to put a stop to the issue of junk mail in the country, the regulator tasked with using the laws to take action against perpetrators is as busy as ever.

Recently the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) issued new guidelines to professional training providers regarding their e-marketing activities, and a more general missive to all businesses that send commercial electronic messages. The main thrust of these guidelines concern implied consent: how it differs from express consent and it what circumstances it is good enough. The CRTC is seeking to make clear to Canadian organisations that implied consent is only acceptable when there is an existing relationship with the intended recipients. In other words, just because random strangers have not expressly forbidden specific companies from sending them emails does not mean that the companies in question are free to do so whenever they wish.

Similar laws are in force around the world, although there are some key differences that senders of marketing emails need to be aware of when operating in various different countries. On the other hand, for the recipients of unwanted marketing emails, geographical location is of little interest: what the majority of individuals and organisations are looking for is an easy-to-use piece of software that will all but eradicate the problem from their lives.

Fortunately there are a number of excellent software solutions available for companies and individuals who want to get junk mail out of their lives, most of which are very affordable. Whilst spam emails may be less of a problem than they were when the Internet first took centre stage, in a less regulated environment, the average American still receives around a hundred unwanted messages a day; a quite staggering number when you think about it.