Legal Definitions - Canadian Anti-Spam Law of 2010: Private Right of Action

The Canadian Anti-Spam Law of 2010 includes clauses 47-55 that allow individuals or organizations to take legal action against those who violate the law. This private right of action applies to violations of the law's core requirements for message content and "opt-in" consent, as well as provisions related to message redirection and software installation. It also applies to violations of the law's amendments to the Competition Act and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).

Examples of violations that can result in legal action include:

• Sending messages with false or misleading information in the sender identification or subject line
• Sending messages with materially false or misleading content
• Obtaining electronic addresses through data mining or automated crawling
• Obtaining personal information through unauthorized access of a computer system

If someone is found guilty of violating the law, they may be required to pay compensatory damages to the affected parties. In addition, they may be subject tostatutory damages of up to $1,000,000 per day.

Overall, the Canadian Anti-Spam Law of 2010 aims to protect individuals and organizations from unwanted and harmful electronic messages. The private right of action provides an additional tool for enforcing the law and holding violators accountable.