Anti-Spam Law – Update on Timing

On Monday I chaired a joint LSUC /IT-Can afternoon on IT privacy law. One of the panels was on the anti-spam act, including representatives from the CRTC and Industry Canada. While there is no clear implementation date yet, Industry Canada expects the final Industry Canada regulations will be out in late summer or early fall. When those come out, an implementation date will be announced. Industry Canada is recommending that there be an implementation delay of several months to allow business to comply, but that decision is ultimately in the government’s hands.

The legislation is very complex, with exceptions layered on exceptions. The CRTC, which is the prime enforcer of the law, has published some guidelines, will publish more, and will also publish FAQ’s. So essentially, to understand the legislation, one has to look at the act, the regs, CRTC and perhaps Industry Canada guidelines and explanatory material.

That’s fine when dealing with the CRTC’s enforcement, but makes me nervous as one might rely on that, then be faced with an individual lawsuit or class action where a judge disagrees with the CRTC’s interpretation.