The Issue
Unsolicited commercial electronic mail, or “spam” as it is commonly known, continues to inundate and in some cases threaten Canadian consumers’ computer inboxes. Spam can carry links to or actual computer code of viruses, “phishing” and other social engineering attacks as well as outright fraud and other scams.
Canada continues to be the only G8 country without an anti-spam law. However, that is set to change when Parliament continues consideration of the Electronic Commerce Protection Act (ECPA), which was Bill C-27 prior to prorogation.
But it is possible that the ECPA will be dramatically altered at Committee Exceptions and amendments may be added, akin to those granted for the National Do Not Call List, which have reduced the effectiveness of that tool for Canadian consumers.
Canadians Prefer to Have Control
One issue is whether commercial email can be sent with or without prior permission. The ECPA requires prior permission; that is, the recipient must take positive steps to “opt in” to receiving commercial email. Companies cannot just assume consent until a consumer complains and asks the emails to stop. We believe marketing associations and some retailers will ask Parliament to amend the ECPA to allow them to send email without permission until told to stop; that is the consumer chooses to “opt out.” CCI members oppose this idea and so does the Canadian public.
In a national telephone poll conducted in January 2010, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre asked 1,000 Canadians: “If the federal government passed a law to control spam whereby your consent was required before companies were allowed to send you unsolicited commercial e-mails, what would be the best way for this to work? Should it be that you must OPT OUT of receiving the company’s e-mails, meaning companies can assume your consent until you ask the company to stop?” Only 13 per cent of Canadians felt comfortable with this opt-out system; a full 86 per cent preferred that companies not be permitted to send them unsolicited commercial e-mail without their explicit “opt-in” consent.
Canadians Say No Exceptions to Spam Rules
PIAC’s poll also asked consumers if they would tolerate exemptions from the ECPA for companies with which they already did business, charities, newspapers, and other parties such as polling companies that have exemptions to the National Do Not Call List. In all cases, well over half of Canadians disapproved of exemptions for any of these groups.
Pass the Electronic Commerce Protection Act Without Amendment
The Consumers Council supports the Electronic Commerce Protection Act, as it was introduced as Bill C-27, and as approved by the previous INDU committee; that is, without amendments to remove consumer control of spam and to introduce exemptions that would greatly reduce the effectiveness of this long-awaited anti-spam bill.
