With Canada’s Anti-Spam Law (CASL) officially on the books, the rules of consent couldn’t be more draconian—and as a result, there’s quite the Catch-22 going down right now on the email scene.
The law, stricter than CAN-SPAM in the U.S., places serious restrictions on the sending of electronic communications and states in no uncertain terms that marketers are required to get consent—or the consumer’s inbox is off limits. While primarily centered on email, CASL also applies to text messages, Facebook messages, and other forms of social messaging sent in the service of selling.
Although consent can take several forms, either express or implied, some kind of opt-in is required or marketers will be found in violation, potentially leading to hugely onerous fines of up to $10 million—and whether we’re talking Canadian dollars or American greenbacks, that’s nothing to sniff at.
Agree with the law or not, CASL aims to protect the consumer—but in an effort to comply and reduce spam in the long-term, marketers are sending enough opt-in requests to drown a fish.
And the irony was not lost on the Twittersphere.
Dear fellow #CASL same-boaters: I won’t re-register, or sign in or do anything more involved than clicking an opt-in button.
— Geoffrey Rowan (@KetchumCanadaPR) June 25, 2014
It’s been called confusing and harmful to small business. Canada’s new anti-spam laws – broken down. #Canada #Spam http://t.co/URnTcptWC1
— 680 CJOB (@680CJOB) June 25, 2014
Every day we get closer to July 1 the more desperate the #CASL email reminders get. #painful pic.twitter.com/eIMhnv5TKo
— Paul Nazareth (@UinvitedU) June 12, 2014
Attention all #CASL request e-mailers. I confirm my interest. Or I don’t confirm. Or I don’t care. #marketingpanic
— Shane Schick (@shaneschick) June 19, 2014
What can happen if you are not compliant with #CASL #marcomforum pic.twitter.com/sHnPvBHb5T
— Mike Kujawski (@mikekujawski) June 12, 2014
I’m going to go ahead and compare #CASL to the Canadian gun registration system – let’s punish those who abide by the law.
— Jett Goats (@mistergoats) June 25, 2014
The worst part of #CASL is that now I’m getting SPAM’d like crazy from people trying to get my consent. It’s raining emails!!
— Jaime Stein (@jaimestein) June 25, 2014
