• Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Special Offers
Business Intelligence Info
  • Business Intelligence
    • BI News and Info
    • Big Data
    • Mobile and Cloud
    • Self-Service BI
  • CRM
    • CRM News and Info
    • InfusionSoft
    • Microsoft Dynamics CRM
    • NetSuite
    • OnContact
    • Salesforce
    • Workbooks
  • Data Mining
    • Pentaho
    • Sisense
    • Tableau
    • TIBCO Spotfire
  • Data Warehousing
    • DWH News and Info
    • IBM DB2
    • Microsoft SQL Server
    • Oracle
    • Teradata
  • Predictive Analytics
    • FICO
    • KNIME
    • Mathematica
    • Matlab
    • Minitab
    • RapidMiner
    • Revolution
    • SAP
    • SAS/SPSS
  • Humor

CASL Lessons from Blackstone: Gain Consent, Strive to Comply

June 14, 2017   CRM News and Info
CASL Lessons from Blackstone Gain Consent Strive to Comply 351x200 CASL Lessons from Blackstone: Gain Consent, Strive to Comply

Canada is a place well known for its unforgiving winters, but this summer it’s likely to get a whole lot colder for some marketers. Come July 1st, Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) ― widely considered one of the toughest laws of its kind ― will take full effect, as its three-year transition period ends and “private right of act” provisions become enforceable law.

What this means on the ground: Just about anyone in Canada who receives unsolicited commercial electronic messages ― including emails, texts, instant messages, even direct messages on social media ― has the right to pursue legal action against the sender. Fines start at $ 200 (Canadian) per message, with additional penalties from the Canadian Radio-Television & Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), potentially reaching into the millions.

What this means more broadly: The stakes for doing business in Canada for companies based in Canada, as well as for international companies with Canadian constituencies, have never been higher. Under CASL, businesses can only send messages to buyers who have explicitly consented to the contact (opted in), or buyers with whom they’ve had a preexisting relationship (inquiries in the last six months, say, or a purchase in the past two years). Parameters for engagement are narrow, and penalties for violators are strict.

It’s a lot to brace for, but, fortunately, we’ve something of a blueprint to work from: The October 2016 Blackstone decision ― CRTC’s first-ever ruling under CASL.

In this case, Blackstone Learning Corp., a provider of educational and training services, was found to have sent more than 380,000 emails violating CASL statutes. Nine messaging campaigns in all that targeted government employees were sent without their recipients’ consent. Blackstone initially contested CRTC’s verdict, arguing that definitions of consent under CASL were vague and imprecise. But CASL won out. The company was fined $ 640,000, and ultimately paid out $ 50,000. It was an instructive outcome; it gave us a glimpse into the courts’ rationale in enforcing CASL, an indication of the penalties they’d likely levy, and a reminder to marketers to keep the following guidelines in mind:

• A public email does not amount to implied consent. In its defense, Blackstone argued it had the implied consent of the people it targeted (government employees) because their email addresses were “conspicuously published” ― readily available to the public, as is often the case with government roles.

On this detail, however, CRTC demurred, ruling that implied consent required a higher standard. It wasn’t enough for an email address simply to be public to be “conspicuously published”; there also needed to be a clear indication ― a note ― that the person was willing to accept unsolicited commercial electronic messages (CEMs), and that these CEMs were relevant to the person’s role, business function, or official capacity. Those are two incredibly important conditions for marketers reaching out cold.

• It’s on businesses to prove consent, and businesses alone. CRTC’s position on this front was firm: Businesses like Blackstone bear the burden in proving consent, implied or otherwise, as consent had to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis only.

In this case specifically, Blackstone was asked to share its methods for obtaining consent, and couldn’t ― hence the courts’ finding. This is a lesson for the rest of us in keeping exhaustive records on consent, whether implied or express. We need to know if it was obtained, how it was obtained, and when it was obtained.

  • Cooperate and correct course early. As we consider this case and the law at hand, it’s worth remembering that CASL was never intended to punish or hobble businesses outright. Its goal, always, was to deter potential violators and encourage compliance.

Blackstone faced an incredibly stiff penalty initially of more than a half million Canadian dollars, but saw the fine lowered (down to just $ 50,000) for two primary reasons. First, the initial fee was more than Blackstone could likely afford, and more than its total number of emails warranted. Second (and more importantly), Blackstone had at least tried to comply previously by contacting the Department of Industry before CASL took effect. Fees were reduced significantly because the defendant was compliant, demonstrating the importance of cooperating early and often with CASL inquiries.

Conclusion

By gaining consent explicitly and studying and adhering to CASL guidelines, marketers can safeguard their electronic communications with Canadian individuals and organizations and avoid spam … and penalties.

6/12/2017 update: The government of Canada has suspended the private right of action that was due to become effective in July. Marketers, however, can still have legal action brought against them under the existing CASL regulations, but not by an individual.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

Act-On Blog

Blackstone, CASL, Comply, Consent, from, gain, Lessons, Strive
  • Recent Posts

    • Rickey Smiley To Host 22nd Annual Super Bowl Gospel Celebration On BET
    • Kili Technology unveils data annotation platform to improve AI, raises $7 million
    • P3 Jobs: Time to Come Home?
    • NOW, THIS IS WHAT I CALL AVANTE-GARDE!
    • Why the open banking movement is gaining momentum (VB Live)
  • Categories

  • Archives

    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
© 2021 Business Intelligence Info
Power BI Training | G Com Solutions Limited