How annoying is it to see that you have fifteen new emails to read but you know that more than half of them are spam? Well, apparently America’s neighbor to the north has had enough of all the junk and recently decided to do something about it. On Tuesday, July 1, the Canadian government put into effect a law that will dramatically affect the way unsolicited mail is sent.
Under the new law, any business that wishes to send mass-email promotions to anyone inside of Canada must obtain the consent of the receiver. For big companies, this should be relatively easy. The law dictates that consent can be implied if there is a record of a purchase within the last two years. According to The New York Times, companies like Ikea and L.L. Bean have invested tremendous funds in order to keep up-to-date records on all of their customers, therefore ensuring its continued email presence.
It is the smaller businesses that are going to have a harder time. Many do not have the resources to keep up-to-the-minute records. They instead have to send a consent email before they begin to advertise. They argue that this policy is unfair as it directly affects their ability to compete for consumers’ attention. Sending a single unsolicited email could result in a fine of up to C$1 million.
Some businesses, both big and small, have implemented promotions in the consent emails themselves. A Ford dealership is offering a chance to win a 2015 Mustang if the receiver approves the consent email. Zoomphoto, an amateur athlete photography studio, is offering an iPad Mini in its promotion. They hope the lure of winning a high-end item is worth it to the consumer for receiving a barrage of email solicitations.
The law will not stop the real spam problem though. The emails disguised as individuals’ banks are not going anywhere. The criminals behind these scams already operate outside of the current laws, so more laws are not likely going to slow them down.
“The more legitimate the business, the more likely it is that they are going to be following the rules, but of course, the people who are not following the rules already aren’t going to follow the new rules,” said David Skillicorn, a professor in the school of computing at Queen’s University, as reported by CBC News.
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