New Blog Post from Teresa Renee, Designed to Connect www.designedtoconnect.com

Keep Calm and Carry On

(Until June 30, 2017)

On July 1, 2014 the new Canada Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) comes in to affect.  In speaking with some small business owners this seems to be causing panic.  Some believe that they have to receive consent from everyone on the list again and some believe that sending out emails to their list after July 1, 2014 could put them in violation with the laws.  Some business owners have talked that they need to dump their email lists entirely and starting over.  However there is no need to take such drastic measures, at least not yet.

Here are the important points you need to know:

1. There are two types of consent- express and implied.  The new laws affect implied consent.  Examples of implied consent are someone handing you a business card and you add it to your email list without them specifically asking you to do so, using the connections from your social media lists (such as Linkedin) to send out emails.  Examples of expressed consent include someone opting into your newsletter on your website or filling out a form in your store that expresses that they wish to join your mailing list.
2. In order to confirm expressed consent you need to be able to show:
3. Your emails whether expressed or implied must all include an unsubscribe mechanism and provide identification information.  If you are not already doing so, you must begin complying with this right away.

1. 1. How consent was obtained writing, orally, opt in on the website, etc.
   2. when it was obtained,
   3. why it was obtained, and
   4. the manner in which it was obtained.
2. If you are able to prove a-d in point 2 above for your entire email list you do not need to do anything as expressed consent does not expire until the sender withdraws consent (opts out).  If you are using an email software such as Constant Contact and your obtained your entire email list through an opt in button on your website you should be able to prove this information.
3. If you are unable to prove a-d in point 2 you may be in a situation where you have implied consent and you will need to begin converting your list over to expressed consent.  There is a 36 month transition period.  You may take advantage of this transitional period to seek expressed consent, therefore you do not need to dump your implied consent email list until June 30, 2017.

Disclaimer:

The CASL overview provided here is incomplete and does not constitute legal advice.

Further information on CASL go to Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation