There have been bits and pieces floating around on this for a while but apparently the official announcement has now been made that the feds will (finally) be introducing an anti-spam law (hat tip to Barb McIsaac for forwarding the link). The nub:
This bill proposes a private right of action, modelled on U.S. legislation, which would allow businesses and consumers to take civil action against anyone who violates the ECPA. The proposed ECPA’s technology-neutral approach allows all forms of commercial electronic messages to be treated the same way. This means that the proposed bill would also address unsolicited text messages, or “cellphone spam,” as a form of “unsolicited commercial electronic message.”
The bill would establish a clear regulatory enforcement regime consistent with international best practices and a multi-faceted approach to enforcement that protects consumers and empowers the private sector to take action against spammers.
An important component of the proposed ECPA is the enforcement regime whereby the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the Competition Bureau and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner would be given the authority to share information and evidence with their counterparts who enforce similar laws internationally, in order to pursue violators beyond our borders.
The proposed ECPA would enable the CRTC to impose administrative monetary penalties (AMPS) of up to $1 million for individuals and $10 million in all other cases. The Competition Bureau would use a similar AMPS regime already provided for in the Competition Act,and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner would use its existing tools and enforcement framework to enforce the provisions of this legislation. The bill also proposes that the Privacy Commissioner’s powers to cooperate and exchange information with her counterparts be expanded, in respect of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.
More on this when I actually get some time to read the thing.
