Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) - University of Alberta
ualberta.ca
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“If you are sending CEMs to other countries, you may also have to comply with those countries’ respective anti-spam laws.” A Commercial Electronic Message (CEM) is defined as any message to an electronic account (ie, emails, text messages, and direct messages on a social media platform) that encourages participation in a commercial activity, regardless of whether there is any expectation of profit. A CEM does not include interactive two-way voice communication, fax messages, or voice recording sent to a telephone account. Telephone calls that offer a product are not CEMs but
In Compliance
4 | Page After two years, the implied consent expires. If you have somebody’s implied consent, you should send them a message asking for express consent before the implied consent period expires. 3.3. What is express consent? Express consent should be in writing, but can also be oral. Individuals may provide their consent in various ways (e.g., by signing a document, sending you an email, entering information into a webform, or clicking on an “I Accept” button). Once you have secured someone’s express consent, you may continue to send them CEMs indefinitely unless the individual “unsubscribes” from further messages. To secure somebody’s express consent, you have to identify: ● The specific purpose for which you are seeking their consent; ● The name of the UAlberta unit seeking consent; ● The following contact information for the UAlberta unit seeking consent (or a link to a website containing this information): o mailing address o telephone number and/or email address and/or web address; and ● A statement indicating that the person whose consent is sought can withdraw their consent. In addition to requesting the individual’s consent, it is also necessary to provide a privacy statement explaining why you are collecting personal information from the individual. Model consent and privacy language can be used to provide additional guidance. If oral consent is obtained, the same information set out above needs to be obtained from and/or provided to the person whose consent is being sought. In addition, in order to establish the onus that you have properly obtained the person’s consent, oral consent must: ● Be capable of being verified by an independent third party, OR ● Be contained within a complete and unedited audio recording of the consent. 3.4. How do you request somebody’s express consent? The easiest way to request express consent is to do so when an individual applies for a service. “However, after July 1, 2014, CASL restricts your ability to request express consent using electronic messages, such as emails.” 5 | Page □ I agree to receive messages from UAlberta Faculty of XXX related to [purpose of message].. You may withdraw your consent at any time. Refer to our privacy policy or contact us for more details. The required contact information of the UAlberta business unit seeking content would be contained in a link from the “contact us” statement. 3.5. If somebody gives you their business card, are they giving you their consent to send them a CEM? This is not express consent because express consent must be in writing. This might, however, be implied consent if the individual is inquiring about entering into a business relationship with UAlberta. 3.6. Can we get blanket consent from students or other individuals for UAlberta to send them CEMs? There are at least two practical difficulties with “blanket consents.” The first is that a valid consent must identify the purpose for which you may contact the individual. It may be difficult to identify and define all of the purposes of the consent in an intelligible and concise fashion. The second difficulty is that a valid consent must identify somebody at UAlberta the individual can contact if they want to withdraw the consent. When a consent withdrawal is received, it will have to be communicated to all of the departments/units that are relying on the consent. Keeping track of all of the departments/units relying on a particular consent could be quite challenging. For the above reasons, it is usually better for each unit to secure and track its own consents, which should be restricted to the particular needs of that unit. 3.7. Are there differences between obtaining consent under CASL and obtaining consent under the FOIPP Act? Yes. The requirements and obligations for obtaining express consent under CASL are separate and distinct obligations and differ from the requirements for obtaining consent under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (Alberta) (FOIPP Act).