What the New Canadian Anti-Spam Law (CASL) Means for B2B Marketers
Mark this down on your calendars…July 1, 2014 and start to prepare now. Email marketers should note that the Canadian Anti-Spam Law (CASL), that we have been preparing our clients for, will take effect in a little over 6 months from now. What does the new law mean for B2B marketers? The difference between the United States CAN-SPAM Law and CASL boils down to permission. CASL requires that email marketers, sending emails to recipients in Canada, must have explicit opt-in permission or face violations and fines.
For B2B marketers, it is important to start getting the permission of the Canadian recipients that you are sending to now. There will be a six month implied consent period for an inquiry and a two year existing business relationship clause that will aid in the timeline for obtaining permission. However, a friendly word of advice – getting explicit opt-in permissions from your recipients will help aid in better deliverability and is considered best-practice.
List rentals and purchases could also be more problematic due to this law. If a business is sending their creative through a list broker or third-party, and that broker’s list is not compliant with CASL, the liability will be linked to that business providing the creative. You are still responsible…whether or not you actually send the email. Keep that in mind when researching your rental or brokers.
Please reach out to us with concerns you may have about your lists and how ANNUITAS can help prepare you for this sweeping legislation and its impact on your email marketing.
Author: Chris Arrendale, CIPP/US, CIPP/IT @arrendale is Chief Deliverability and Privacy Strategist, ANNUITAS
