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What Type of Opt-In Language do I Need to Get Email Consent in Canada?

If you are a digital marketer or online business owner, you know how important the health of your email list is to the profitability of your business.
 
A legal question that I am often asked is what consent you need to send emails to Canadians to add them to your email list.
 
If you are sending emails (or other commercial electronic messages) to Canadians, you need either Express consent or Implied consent under CASL (Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation).
 
If you are dealing with people in the EU, you always need Express Consent to send them electronic messages under the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations).
 
The key to Express consent is getting a subscriber to actively agree to join your email list.
 
You can have a check box, but it cannot be pre-filled with an X. The subscriber will need to actively check the box.
 
You need to explain in general terms what they are agreeing to receive and must include an unsubscribe mechanism.
 
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What Privacy Laws Does My Business Need to Follow?

Many businesses in Canada are becoming more aware that they have privacy obligations, but are still confused about which laws apply to them.  

This post will break down the various pieces of privacy legislation and when they may apply to your business.

PIPEDA (The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act) - this is Canadian federal legislation.  It applies to businesses who collect "personal information" in the course of their commercial activities.  "Personal information" includes any information that is linked to an identifiable individual.  This applies to all businesses in most of Canada (see below).

Province Specific Privacy Laws - Some provinces in Canada have made their own privacy laws that apply either in place of PIPEDA (Quebec, Alberta, BC) or in addition to PIPEDA (i.e. for health-related information - Ontario, NB, NL and NS).  To read further on these provincial laws - click here.  For some organizations, the...

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Legal Tips About Social Media for Business Owners

Here are five things that you need to know about the legal stuff when you are using social media for your business:

1. You are a Tenant (not an Owner) when you use social media platforms. If you don't follow the rules, the Landlord might kick you out.

2. Make sure you have the right to share the content you are sharing. Don't take other's content without their permission or a license and get a release if you are creating content using other people's likeness.

3. Have a social media policy for your business. This will get everyone on the same page and protect against risks of privacy breaches, defamation or damage to your brand.

4. Copyright laws protect the original content that you create and publish. You can enforce your rights to it.

5. Know the CASL (anti-spam) rules for Canada. These rules cover all commercial electronic messages (i.e. DMs, texts) not just email. Know how you can add people to your email list within the rules.

 
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Can Emails Back and Forth Form a Contract?

 

In this second part of the "Get it Writing 2020" series, you will learn whether emails back and forth can form a legal contract.  You will also learn things to look out for using e-mails to form agreements.

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3 Ways to Grow Your E-mail List Without Being Spammy

An e-mail list is one of the most important and valuable assets to an online or bricks and mortar business.

When Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation came into effect in 2014, this had a chilling effect on the e-mail marketing efforts of many small businesses.  Many business became afraid to send e-mails for fear of breaking this law. This legislation is federal and applies across Canada.

The general rule is that if you are sending “commercial electronic messages” which include e-mails, you need the consent of the recipient of the message.  Whenever you can get this express written consent from a client or prospect, you should record it and store it.  This could include having them check a box electronically on a website, or on paper ballots or contest entries.

The good news for small businesses is that there are several useful exceptions where you have implied consent if you have not obtained express consent (permission in writing)....

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