Legal Definitions - Canadian Anti-Spam Law of 2010: Legislative Background

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.