Special announcement to our Canadian customers
On July 1, 2014, a Canadian law went into effect that changes which Canadian citizens you can send to. It’s Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation, or CASL, and it applies to commercial messages sent to any Canadian citizen’s email address.
What is CASL, and how does it differ from U.S. law?
The United States’s Can-Spam law says your commercial message must include a physical address and an opportunity to opt out, but it does not require explicit or implied consent in order to send an email. CASL, in most cases, requires explicit, documented consent before you send. Explicit consent exists when a person is clearly given an option to opt in to receive messages and actively, directly gives that consent. Consent can also be implied in some situations with CASL. If a contact continues purchasing from your company, continues using your services in some way or continues subscribing to your magazine, consent to send messages can be implied. This implied consent is valid for two years after the subscription ends, or services have been rendered or purchased. If explicit consent hasn’t been given within those two years, you must discontinue email messaging.
There are some situations that don’t require explicit or implied consent, like if it’s pertinent to the contact’s business or it’s reasonable for them to expect to be contacted by you — for instance, a dentist who publishes his email on his website could reasonably expect to receive emails from someone who sells dental equipment. In these cases, you may communicate with them via email for a period of two years. Again, if explicit consent or implied consent is not obtained in that time, you must discontinue email messaging.
Does this apply to me?
Yes, if you have email addresses from Canada in your audience. CASL went into full effect July 1, 2014, with a grace period of three years given to acquire explicit consent from any of your current subscribers (collected before July 1, 2014) for which you only have implied consent. Many customers will not ever send an email governed by CASL.
However, this is an opportunity to be on the front-end of where we’re moving and what the people who are experiencing your emails are asking for. If you own a boutique in Florida, chances you’ll run into this are slim, given its geographic location. But this is the trend of where things are going, so it’s a great idea to go ahead and do this for your own marketing’s success, no matter your location. There is a formidable list of exceptions to CASL, and we encourage you to review those to ensure you take appropriate actions.
Data privacy is a topic of discussion, so while the laws in the United States are less restrictive now, the public’s reaction is that they like to know what’s happening with their information on the internet. CASL being passed is an international example of a government legislating more privacy rights, and similar laws will probably be considered in the United States and the rest of the world as the public debate on privacy continues.
What is CASL, and how does it differ from U.S. law?
The United States’s Can-Spam law says your commercial message must include a physical address and an opportunity to opt out, but it does not require explicit or implied consent in order to send an email. CASL, in most cases, requires explicit, documented consent before you send. Explicit consent exists when a person is clearly given an option to opt in to receive messages and actively, directly gives that consent. Consent can also be implied in some situations with CASL. If a contact continues purchasing from your company, continues using your services in some way or continues subscribing to your magazine, consent to send messages can be implied. This implied consent is valid for two years after the subscription ends, or services have been rendered or purchased. If explicit consent hasn’t been given within those two years, you must discontinue email messaging.
There are some situations that don’t require explicit or implied consent, like if it’s pertinent to the contact’s business or it’s reasonable for them to expect to be contacted by you — for instance, a dentist who publishes his email on his website could reasonably expect to receive emails from someone who sells dental equipment. In these cases, you may communicate with them via email for a period of two years. Again, if explicit consent or implied consent is not obtained in that time, you must discontinue email messaging.
Does this apply to me?
Yes, if you have email addresses from Canada in your audience. CASL went into full effect July 1, 2014, with a grace period of three years given to acquire explicit consent from any of your current subscribers (collected before July 1, 2014) for which you only have implied consent. Many customers will not ever send an email governed by CASL.
However, this is an opportunity to be on the front-end of where we’re moving and what the people who are experiencing your emails are asking for. If you own a boutique in Florida, chances you’ll run into this are slim, given its geographic location. But this is the trend of where things are going, so it’s a great idea to go ahead and do this for your own marketing’s success, no matter your location. There is a formidable list of exceptions to CASL, and we encourage you to review those to ensure you take appropriate actions.
Data privacy is a topic of discussion, so while the laws in the United States are less restrictive now, the public’s reaction is that they like to know what’s happening with their information on the internet. CASL being passed is an international example of a government legislating more privacy rights, and similar laws will probably be considered in the United States and the rest of the world as the public debate on privacy continues.
Go to this page to read more.
