Under this new anti-spam legislation, businesses that send commercial electronic messages — emails, texts and potentially some social media postings — must be able to verify that they have the recipient’s consent.
According to regulators of Canadian Anti-Spam Law (CASL), the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commision (CRTC) states that this new rule also applies to all senders who want to virtually communicate with Canadians, including in the United States.
So what does CASLÂ mean for your email campaign with Email Broadcast?
Campaigns through Email Broadcast are already 100% compliant and there is nothing our clients need to change. This comes with our understanding that our clients have only added people to their lists that they know gave implied or explicit permission.
Expressed vs. Implied Consent
Expressed consent is pretty straightforward. It is a written or oral agreement to receive specific types of messages.  For example: “You want to receive monthly newsletters from Company A.” This can be obtained when customers disclose their email at your place of business. Email Broadcast has always practiced “opt-in” methods; our join forms and super collectors make it clear that customers will be receiving occasional correspondence from your business, and we make sure that your customers know they’re free to unsubscribe at any time.
Implied consent includes recipients who have done business with your company within the last two years. If they have purchased a product or service from you in the last 24 months, you have their implied consent.
There are also some exemptions under this new legislation. Current customer inquiries, or someone who has inquired within the last six months fall within this exemption. Also, charities or political organizations raising funds or soliciting contributions are also exempt.
You also have a three-year transition period, until July 1, 2017, during which you can implement all measures to ensure your list stays compliant with this new law.
If you’re an Email Broadcast customer, great! You can relax. We set up all our clients properly in the first place, so this new law should not affect your campaigns at all.Â
If you’re NOT one of our customers, you should probably be concerned. Take a good hard look at your email marketing to see if your compliance measures hold up to the new regulations. Go ahead and read up on the full text of the law. If the extensive legal mumbo jumbo makes your head spin, it’s time to give us a call at 206.714.4767. We’ll know how to run our email marketing campaigns the RIGHT way, so we’re more than happy to help you with yours.
