Are You Ready for the Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL)

Wed, Jun 25, 2014

FAQs



  
    

On July 1st, 2014 the Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) will be in effect and is applicable to anyone who uses commercial electronic messages.

It effects you not only if you are Canadian but if you have any Canadians in your email list.

Even if your business is based in the U.S. or any other country it still applies to you.

What is Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL)?

CASL is a new anti-spam law that will apply to all electronic messages sent in connection with a “commercial activity.” Its key feature requires Canadian and global organizations that send commercial electronic messages within, from or to Canada to receive consent from recipients before sending.

What you need to do is as simple as 1,2,3

 

1. Update how you collect email addresses

For all Canadian email addresses added to your email marketing database after July 1, 2014, CASL requires you to document consent, either implied or expressed.

Implied consent is inferred based on actions, such as having an existing business relationship (making a purchase or donation, for example). In order to maintain implied consent a contact must take a business action with you at least once every two years.

Express consent is obtained when you explicitly ask your potential contacts for permission to send them email, and they agree. Once you obtain express consent, it is good forever or until someone opts out.

When possible we recommend obtaining express consent.

In order to obtain express consent when collecting email addresses — online and offline — make sure you can answer “yes” to the following questions:

  1. Make sure your sign-up form has clear and obvious language asking for permission to send the contact future electronic messaging?
  2. Make sure your form clearly identify the person, business, or organization asking for the consent?
  3. Make sure your form contain a valid mailing address and either a telephone number, email address, or web address?
  4. Make sure your form indicate that there will be a mechanism for people to easily unsubscribe at any time?
  5. Make sure you have a process in place to document this express consent?

When you use ResponseMagic to create a sign-up form or capture page after July 1st, 2014 to collect email and mobile phone numbers it will contain the necessary information and you will have a record of the prospects expressed consent that will be tracked and stored in the database.

Here is what we will automatically be putting on our opt-in forms and response magic generated capture pages:
I agree to give John Smith permission to send me future emails.
I understand I can opt-out and any time in the future.
Address of user, email of user.

If you are using any methods other than the ResponseMagic sign-up form such as a third party sign-up form, manually adding contacts, manually uploading an Import CSV file or Paper sign-up form, you’ll need to make sure you’re adding the appropriate Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL)-compliant language to all of these methods. You will also need to be able to retrieve this information if required.

2. Get Consent from Existing Canadian Contacts

For contacts added prior to July 1, 2014 you must be able to document expressed consent before July 1, 2017.
Expressed Consent = The contact opted-in

If you collected all of your email subscribers using and opt-in form on ResponseMagic you are already ahead of the game because the act of opting into a newsletter is Expressed consent in itself. However if you used any other methods other than the ResponseMagic sign-up form such as manually adding contacts or importing contacts. Its best to make sure everyone on your list has given you expressed consent before July 1st, 2017. So make it part of your practice to send your manual contacts a confirmation email get get their expressed consent.

3. Make Sure Future Emails Have the Following Information

  1. Clearly state who the person or business is that is sending the message
  2. Email Must identify the email service provider
  3. Email must have a mechanism for people to unsubscribe from any email at any time.
  4. Email must include a valid mailing address and email address. (you can also use telephone number or web address in replace of email address)

Note: All emails sent using ResponseMagic email marketing system will include the information above and will be compliant with CASL.

We just need you to make sure your contact information on your account is correct.

  1. login to your responsemagic.com account.
  2. click account
  3. settings
  4. update your settings listed and click update settings

I conduct my business from home. Do I need to disclose my home address to fulfill the identification requirements?

No, you do not need to provide your home address. You can provide another valid mailing address as long as you can be contacted at that address. Please refer to paragraph 9 of Compliance and Enforcement Information Bulletin CRTC 2012-548 for more information. Of note, that Information Bulletin explains that a mailing address includes not only a street address, but also a P.O. Box, rural route address, or general delivery address.

We look forward to helping make this a seamless process as time passes.

Ryan Hache
and the team at ResponseMagic.com

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