ALAN BIRD LOOKS AT THE GOVERNMENT’S NEW ANTI-SPAM LEGISLATION AND WHAT IT REALLY MEANS FOR DEALERS
The new Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) will destroy marketing. If you believe that statement, follow these instructions: 1) Take a deep breath and 2) Read the rest of this article.
The Right Message at the Right Time to the Right Person. As a marketer, this is the goal of many a marketing plan. The dealer that sees returns on campaigns is often the one that follows this rule. At the highest level, CASL will provide “legal incentive” to make certain your marketing efforts are targeting the right person.
Many activities performed daily in a dealership — such as sending an email marketing campaign, maintaining a website or offering a mobile application — will soon be subject to new, comprehensive laws. This will require dealerships to make significant changes to the way in which they collect and maintain prospect or customer data — or face significant new penalties. Welcome to the new world of the Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL).
After nearly a decade in limbo (although CASL was actually enacted on December 20, 2010), the federal government finally published the regulations to implement CASL on December 4th, 2013. The key to this legislation is that it goes much further than regulating bulk, unsolicited email communications — what we often refer to as “SPAM”. CASL now creates an express consent-based structure that will apply to almost all commercial electronic messages (CEMs) sent by email, text or other electronic means. Unlike the CAN-SPAM Act south of the border that relies on opt-out consent (i.e., an operational “unsubscribe” process), CASL requires express “opt-in” consent. That means no more pre-checked boxes on the forms!
WHAT IS A COMMERCIAL ELECTRONIC MESSAGE?
A commercial electronic message (CEM) is defined in the legislation as “any electronic message that encourages participation in a commercial activity, regardless of whether there is an expectation of profit.” This includes all forms of electronic marketing — email, mobile, sound, voice or image message, text and social media. It does not include voice recordings or fax messages to a telephone account.
Under CASL, CEMs can only be sent to recipients that have provided express (opt-in) consent, unless the sender can demonstrate that the CEM falls within one of the specified exemptions. Exemptions from consent include the following:
• There is an existing business relationship;
• There is an existing non business relationship and you have sent the customer multiple CEMs prior to July 1st;
• Provides a quote or estimate requested by a recipient;
• Facilitates, completes or confirms a commercial transaction; or provides warranty information, product recall information, or safety/security information about a product that the message recipient has used or purchased.
PHASED IMPLEMENTATION
The time to prepare for CASL is now, before July 1, 2014. The Minister of Industry announced that CASL will come into force in three phases, with the majority of required changes coming into force on July 1, 2014, followed by the provisions related to computer programs coming into force on January 15, 2015 and the Private Right of Action on July 1, 2017.
FORM AND CONTENT REQUIREMENTS
All qualified CEMs distributed after July 1, 2014 will need to include specific information that identifies the sender who sent the message or identifies the person on whose behalf the message is sent; the sender’s contact information; and an unsubscribe mechanism that meets requirements prescribed in the regulation that enables the recipient to opt-out of all electronic communications.
PENALTIES
While not enforced until July 1, 2017, CASL comes with the potential of stiff penalties, called administrative monetary penalties that the Canadian Radio-Telecommunications Commission(CRTC) can impose for violations, of up to $10,000,000 for corporations and $1,000,000 for individuals. Individuals affected by a violation can sue for loss/damages incurred.
HOW TO PREPARE
Compliance at the retail level can be difficult. Here are six tips to consider as your dealership begins the process towards compliance:
1. Form a compliance team at your dealership;
2. Identify the CASL requirements that apply to the dealership;
3. Audit and document current practices (i.e. online forms, lead follow-up process, etc.)
4. Develop a CASL compliance plan;
5. Implement the CASL compliance plan (vendor support likely required) ;
6. Monitor, track and update the CASL compliance plan.
While very manageable, this piece of legislation will have an enormous impact on dealerships and how they run their businesses. Over the next few articles, we will take a deeper look at some of the specific components of the legislation and how it relates to the automotive dealer. Like anything, the key to removing the fear of CASL is to learn and understand it.
