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Simple English definitions for legal terms
A quick definition of Canadian Anti-Spam Law of 2010: Legislative Background:
The Canadian Anti-Spam Law of 2010 was created to stop spam emails and other online threats that harm the internet and its users. The law requires that people must give permission before sending spam emails, and it prohibits false or misleading
information in emails. It also sets penalties for those who break the law and allows individuals and companies to take
legal action against spammers. The law was created after a task force investigated the problem of spam and made recommendations for how to stop it.
A more thorough explanation:
The Canadian Anti-Spam Law of 2010 is a law that was created to address the growing problem of spam email in Canada. The law was created after a private-sector "Task Force on Spam" was established in 2004 to investigate solutions to the problem.
The Task Force proposed a six-point stakeholder consensus plan for addressing the problem, which included:
- Making use of existing legal frameworks
- Reviewing current legislative, regulatory, and enforcement measures
- Encouraging network management practices and industry best-practice principles
- Encouraging the development of technologies to validate legitimate commercial email
- Encouraging businesses to educate consumers about spam-related problems
- Supporting global anti-spam initiatives
After a year of investigation, the Task Force recommended legislation, regulation, and enforcement to address spam-related problems. The recommendations included:
- A clear set of rules to prohibit spam and other emerging threats to the safety and security of the Internet
- An opt-in regime for spam
- Prohibition of false or misleading headers or subject lines
- Prohibition of the construction of false or misleading URLs and websites
- Prohibition of email address harvesting
- Penalties for offenders, ranging from civil liability to criminal liability
- A private right of action for individuals and corporations
- Liability for third parties benefited by spam
- Administration of a new stand-alone law
- Priority and resources for administration and enforcement from the Canadian Federal Government
- Coordinated enforcement with Canadian Provincial and Territorial Government enforcement agencies, as well as with other countries' enforcement agencies
The law was finally enacted in December 2010 as Bill C-28.
Canadian Anti-Spam Law of 2010: Introduction and Abbreviations |
Canadian Anti-Spam Law of 2010: Legislative Purposes