Well, not worse if you are a typical Netizen trying to use email and your computer for real work or pleasure, but for those of us who use email for our business communications it may turn out to be a real pain.
Bill C-28, Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation. That's the title of the page that introduces you to what I feel is a very tough and potentially (for some companies who just don't get it) devastating piece of new legislation. In contrast to the CAN-SPAM act in the US, this law has a "sundown" period of only 2 years on contacts without getting them to re-up to your email list, or after your commercial transaction that legitimises your contact with them.
The potential penalties are huge - up to $1 million per day!
The major questions are - what will be in the regulations and what will be the actual fervor this law is prosecuted under?
Over and above the email sections, this law also deals with the likes of unauthorized installation of software on someone else's computer and prohibits the collection of personal information by such programs.
The bottom line for all legitimate businesses in Canada that use email in any way associated with their business is that they will have to tighten up on their practices and keep better records than I know most do currently.
Those who use a legitimate service provider to do their email contact management will not have a problem as those companies will ensure that the rules are followed - the penalties for not doing so far out-weigh the fees they could charge for such services.
The companies that do their own in-house email contact management will be another thing. They most likely will get caught at some point if this law is prosecuted anywhere nearly as hard as I expect it to be, given the section that allows individuals to do much of that prosecution themselves.
If you have a CMS (Contact Management System) either in-house or as an external service, or use any of the "canned" email contact programs that you might purchase on the internet for a few dollars, you need to call us for a consultation.
We can help you put together internal policies and procedures that will guard you from crossing the line.
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