The Canadian Anti-SPAM law (CASL or FISA) contemplated that regulations would need to be promulgated before the Act is proclaimed into force. CASL contemplated two sets of regulations: one from Industry Canada and the other from the CRTC. The CRTC published draft regulations for comment purposes on June 30, 2011. The Commission will accept comments from interested persons that it receives on or before September 7, 2011, a date extended by the CRTC from the original date of 29 August 2011.
The CRTC draft regulations are as follows:
1. In these Regulations, “Act” means An Act to promote the efficiency and adaptability of the Canadian economy by regulating certain activities that discourage reliance on electronic means of carrying out commercial activities, and to amend the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act, the Competition Act, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and the Telecommunications Act.
INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN COMMERCIAL ELECTRONIC MESSAGES
2. (1) For the purposes of subsection 6(2) of the Act, the following information must be set out in any commercial electronic message:
(a) the name of the person sending the message and the person, if different, on whose behalf it is sent;
(b) if the message is sent on behalf of another person, a statement indicating which person is sending the message and which person on whose behalf the message is sent;
(c) if the person who sends the message and the person, if different, on behalf of whom it is sent carry on business by different names, the name by which those persons carry on business; and
(d) the physical and mailing address, a telephone number providing access to an agent or a voice messaging system, an email address and a web address of the person sending the message and, if different, the person on whose behalf the message is sent and any other electronic address used by those persons.
(2) If it is not practicable to include the information referred to in subsection (1) and the unsubscribe mechanism referred to in paragraph 6(2)(c) of the Act in a commercial electronic message, that information may be provided by a link to a web page on the World Wide Web that is clearly and prominently set out and that can be accessed by a single click or another method of equivalent efficiency at no cost to the person to whom the message is sent.
FORM OF COMMERCIAL ELECTRONIC MESSAGES
3. (1) The information referred to in section 2 and the unsubscribe mechanism referred to in paragraph 6(2)(c) of the Act must be set out clearly and prominently.
(2) The unsubscribe mechanism referred to in paragraph 6(2)(c) of the Act must be able to be performed in no more than two clicks or another method of equivalent efficiency.
INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN A REQUEST FOR CONSENT
4. For the purposes of subsections 10(1) and (3) of the Act, a request for consent must be in writing and must be sought separately for each act described in sections 6 to 8 of the Act and must include
(a) the name of the person seeking consent and the person, if different, on whose behalf consent is sought;
(b) if the consent is sought on behalf of another person, a statement indicating which person is seeking consent and which person on whose behalf consent is sought;
(c) if the person seeking consent and the person, if different, on whose behalf consent is sought carry on business by different names, the name by which those persons carry on business;
(d) the physical and mailing address, a telephone number providing access to an agent or a voice messaging system, an email address and a web address of the person seeking consent and, if different, the person on whose behalf consent is sought and any other electronic address used by those persons; and
(e) a statement indicating that the person whose consent is sought can withdraw their consent by using any contact information referred to in paragraph (d).
SPECIFIED FUNCTIONS OF COMPUTER PROGRAMS
5. A computer program’s material elements that perform one or more of the functions listed in subsection 10(5) of the Act must be brought to the attention of the person from whom consent is being sought separately from any other information provided in a request for consent and the person seeking consent must obtain an acknowledgement in writing from the person from whom consent is being sought that they understand and agree that the program performs the specified functions.
Industry Canada published additional draft regulations on July 8, 2011. There is also a 60 day period for commenting on these regulations. These draft regulatons read as follows:
PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP AND FAMILY RELATIONSHIP
2. For the purposes of paragraph 6(5)(a) of the Act
- (a) “family relationship” means the relationship between individuals who are connected by
- (i) a blood relationship, if one individual is the child or other descendant of the other individual, the parent or grandparent of the other individual, the brother or sister of the other individual or of collateral descent from the other individual’s grandparent,
- (ii) marriage, if one individual is married to the other individual or to an individual connected by a blood relationship to that other individual,
- (iii) a common-law partnership, if one individual is in a common-law partnership with the other individual or with an individual who is connected by a blood relationship to that other individual; and
- (iv) adoption, if one individual has been adopted, either legally or in fact, as the child of the other individual or as the child of an individual who is connected by a blood relationship to that other individual; and
- (b) “personal relationship” means the relationship, other than in relation to a commercial activity, between an individual who sends the message and the individual to whom the message is sent, if they have had an in-person meeting and, within the previous two years, a two-way communication.
CONDITIONS FOR USE OF CONSENT
3. (1) For the purposes of paragraph 10(2)(b) of the Act, a person who obtained express consent on behalf of a person whose identity was unknown may authorize any person to use the consent on the condition that the person who obtained consent ensures that, in any commercial electronic message sent to the person from whom consent was obtained,
- (a) the person who obtained consent is identified; and
- (b) the authorized person provides an unsubscribe mechanism that, in addition to meeting the requirements set out in section 11 of the Act, allows the person from whom consent was obtained to withdraw their consent from the person who obtained consent or any other person who is authorized to use the consent.
(2) The person who obtained consent must ensure that, on receipt of an indication of withdrawal of consent by the authorized person who sent the commercial electronic message, that authorized person notifies the person who obtained consent that consent has been withdrawn from, as the case may be,
- (a) the person who obtained consent;
- (b) the authorized person who sent the commercial electronic message; or
- (c) any other person who is authorized to use the consent.
(3) The person who obtained consent must inform, without delay, a person referred to in paragraph 2(c) of the withdrawal of consent on receipt of notification of withdrawal of consent from that person.
(4) The person who obtained consent must give effect to a withdrawal of consent and, if applicable, ensure that a person referred to in paragraph 2(c) gives effect to the withdrawal of consent, in accordance with subsection 11(3) of the Act.
MEMBERSHIP, CLUB, ASSOCIATION AND VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATION
4. (1) For the purposes of paragraph 10(13)(c) of the Act, membership is the status of having been accepted as a member of a club, association or voluntary organization in accordance with the membership requirements of the club, association or organization.
(2) For the purposes of paragraph 10(13)(c) of the Act, a club, association or voluntary organization is a non-profit organization that is organized and operated exclusively for social welfare, civic improvement, pleasure or recreation or for any purpose other than profit, if no part of its income is payable to, or otherwise available for the personal benefit of any proprietor, member or shareholder of that organization unless the proprietor, member or shareholder is an organization the primary purpose of which is the promotion of amateur athletics in Canada.
*Updated after the Industry Canada draft regulations were published.