Don't Panic - The Truth of Why You Don't Have 1.1 Million New Reasons to Fear CASL

Fearing you've now got 1.1 million reasons to fear CASL? Here's the truth -- don't panic. And get the whole story.

Even though some of the less-scrupulous out there will now suggest you have 1.1 million reasons to fear Canada's Anti-Spam legislation, it's simply not true.

Take a breath, review the facts, and be aware of what the actual issue is.

It can be summed up in one word: flagrant.

If you check the CRTC's anti-spam section, there's an outline of the decision. In it there's a telling quote attributed to Manon Bombardier, the CRTC's chief compliance and enforcement officer. "... Despite the CRTC's efforts, Compu-Finder flagrantly violated the basic principles of the law by continuing to send unsolicited commercial electronic messages after the law came into force to email addresses it found by scouring websites."

Further, as per a recent Toronto Star article, the company was allegedly in violation multiple times, had been contacted by the CRTC and given an opportunity to come into compliance with the law, and actually accounted for "more than one quarter of the spam complaints received that were related to training companies."

So this isn't Big Brother coming down on an unsuspecting company that's inadvertently done something wrong. This is, again allegedly, a company that has a history of violations and has ignored attempts to rectify the situation.

Should you worry?

The virtual snake-oil salesmen (and women) have already started to come out of the woodwork, trying to crank up the ol' fear-mongering techniques that we saw back in mid-2014 when this legislation was about to come into effect. They will tell you that this is proof that CASL is coming after you.

Don't panic. It's exactly what we said it was back in the day. Why? Because we went to the source, asked about compliance and punitive action, and were assured that CASL compliance is designed to be a collaborative process.

Follow best practices, do your best, and reply quickly to any complaints or notifications and you'll be fine.

For a refresher, please feel free to peruse our previously posted CASL resources:

• Don't Panic - Canada's Anti-Spam Laws Simplified and Demystified (June 12, 2014) 
• Defining Content (Both Expressed and Implied) (June 13, 2014) 
• How to Identify Yourself (June 17, 2014) 
• Saying Goodbye Shouldn't Be Hard (June 19, 2014) 
• Email Clients and Best Practices (July 24, 2014) 

And, as always, if you have any specific questions about CASL compliance, best practices, or would like someone to review your digital marketing and communication protocols, feel free to contact Digital Echidna at your convenience