Canada needs to enforce some
anti-spam laws quickly; especially, if it wants to be perceived as an
important player in the fight against spam.
Bill C-27 - the Electronic Commerce Protection Act was
introduced in spring last year. The act is a result of years of hard
work to ensure that Canada does not become a 'spam haven'. Industry
Minister, Tony Clement’s anti-spam bill has been able to make it
steadily, yet slowly, through the legislative process. The Standing
Committee on Industry was to carry out the final clause-by-clause
review of the act earlier in October.
While people would definitely support and accept laws to
curtail spamming, there has been some opposition to the bill from
business groups. These groups claim that the prerequisite to gain
permission from users before sending them commercial emails will only
hinder conducting business on the Internet.
When examined, it becomes clear that the bill seeks to set
‘reasonable limits’ for online marketing. The bill is on par with
anti-spam laws in countries like Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
Bill C-27 contains four major stipulations that need to be
fulfilled to get consent from users. Firstly, the bill exempts
business-to-business communication; this means businesses can send
emails to each other without obtaining consent. Secondly, the bill is
only applicable to commercial emails. All non-commercial emails between
friends, family members, associates are completely exempt from the act.
Thirdly, a range of business-to-consumer commercial email is beyond the
purview of the bill. This means, businesses will be able to bank on
implied consent to send
promotional email to current customers for 18 months and also
to non-customers, who have interfaced with the organization, for 6
months after their last contact. Lastly, if users have given their
consent, companies can send unlimited commercial messages.
Canada needs to pass an anti-spam legislation as soon as
possible, probably something on the lines of the CAN SPAM Act. Delaying
it any further could make it the biggest spam junk yard in the
neighborhood. Besides the law, authorities also need to provide an
impetus for self-regulation. What’s more, they should respond to a
crying need for greater online regulation.
Source: http://www.thestar.com/business/article/705294
