Canada’s New Anti-Spam Law - Are You Ready?

What is Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation?
Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) is a new law that sets rules on the sending of commercial messages across many technologies such as email, SMS, MMS, social direct messages, etc.  CASL requires express “opt-in” consent. This means that under CASL, emails can only be sent when the recipient, through implied or express consent, requests the email, whereas under CAN-SPAM (the current law in the US) the messages can be sent until the recipient requests they stop.  Additionally, all requests for consent and almost all commercial electronic messages must meet prescriptive sender and contact person identity and withdrawal of consent requirements.

When does this take effect?
CASL will come into effect on July 1st, 2014.

How am I affected by these new laws?
CASL requires organizations sending emails to and from Canada to obtain express or implied consent before sending any communication. “Express consent" means that a user took action to opt-in or approve to receive communications from you. "Implied consent" is when no action was taken to approve communications from your organization, but you have a business or non-business relationship with the recipient.

The new law applies to all messages sent from or to Canada; however, Blackbaud cannot advise how CASL will affect an organization. Each organization should reach out to an appropriate legal resource for information about how they may be affected by this new legislation. More information about CASL and electronic messages can be found on Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation's website, along with the regulations and exemptions from the law as an organization or business.

 

What are some things I need to do before the law takes effect?

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• Get Consent. Send messages to get your recipients to sign up to receive different types of messages from your organization. For example, a user might like to receive messages about upcoming events but not your weekly newsletter.
  
• Get Clear. Review all your email templates and messages to ensure the messages that go out comply with the commercial electronic message requirement to clearly identify where the message is coming from and all the parties involved.  More information on the requirements can be found here. You also need to provide a way for users to unsubscribe from receiving email messages at any time.  Please note that Blackbaud already requires a unsubscribe link for every message that BBIS sends.
  
• Get Prepared. Be sure to review your internal processes, as you will need to provide proof of consent for every message that you send. Make sure that every record in BBCRM has this data entered.
  

What can I do in Blackbaud Internet Solutions (BBIS) to help me comply with these regulations?

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• You can utilize our integrated Email Subscription Form (created via form builder) to collect email addresses that are then recorded directly into BBCRM. You should always be offering a communication preferences form inside of your email blasts so that your recipients can easily update their email and offline preferences that also write back to BBCRM. This will help you track and manage consent.
  
• You can update the setting for default users who sign up on your BBIS site to opt in to receive email messages. This setting determines whether new registered users in BBIS opt in by default to receive email messages from your organization. If you wish you turn this feature off/on for all users please follow these steps.
  
• You can add a new constituent attribute asking for consent on the new user sign up/login and profile forms to allow current and new users the opportunity to remove consent at any time during their relationship with your organization. Here are steps to add attributes to the profile form and the user sign up/login form.
  

If you have any more questions about using our BBIS, please contact Blackbaud Product Support at 800.468.8996 or create a case at Case Central.

These materials are provided for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue.