Canadian Government Reintroduces Anti-Spam Bill
Electronic Commerce Protection Act recognizes Government's role in combatting spam
The re-introduction of Bill C-27, "The Electronic Commerce Protection Act" is a major step forward in spam fighting in Canada. With provisions of penalties of up to $1 Million for individuals and $10 Million for companies, it should be enough to drive the major Canadian Spammers offshore or, better yet, out of the business completely.
The full bill can be viewed on the Parliamentary Web Site:
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=3832885&...
Roaring Penguin feels that government has a role to play in stopping spam but that nothing will replace a technological solution in the short term. Aside from those who chose to ignore the law completely, the proposed law has loopholes in it big enough to drive a truck through. For instance, any business from which you have made a purchase in the the last 18 months has an implied "existing business relationship" with you. Canadians will still require some sort of anti-spam solution to protect themselves from overly aggressive interpretations of what constitutes a "relationship". Among technological solutions, Roaring Penguin's Hosted CanIt anti-spam service is an ideal solution for small companies struggling to deal with the deluge of spam.