丁香园AV

General Questions

What is the Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation?

The primary purpose of the Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (usually called CASL) is to regulate the distribution of commercial electronic messages and control spam (unwanted Commercial Electronic Messages, or CEMs).  The law prevents the distribution of commercial messages sent through electronic means, such as email and text messages, without the consent of the recipient.  It also requires that all electronic messages clearly identify the sender and include an unsubscribe measure.

Other provisions concerning commercial software phase in between July 1, 2014 and July 1, 2017.  They prohibit the installation of computer programs without consent (e.g., viruses, spyware); the unauthorized altering of transmission data; the provision of false or misleading information in a message; and they provide for the private right of action and a deadline for transitional implied consent.

CASL is one of the world鈥檚 most stringent anti-spam laws.  General information on CASL is available at , and the full text of the law can be found at .

When did CASL come into force? 

The law came into effect on July 1, 2014. 

Who does CASL apply to? 

CASL applies to most organizations in Canada, including 丁香园AV (丁香园AV). 

What impact does CASL have on 丁香园AV? 

CASL has a fairly modest impact on 丁香园AV because most electronic messages sent by 丁香园AV are not subject to the legislation.  For more information about the scope of CASL, see the following sections of this FAQ. 

Scope of CASL

What kinds of electronic messages are regulated by CASL?

CASL applies to 鈥淐ommercial Electronic Messages鈥� (CEMs), which are defined as any 鈥渆lectronic messages鈥� that encourage participation in a 鈥渃ommercial activity鈥�.  These terms are defined below.

 An 鈥渆lectronic message鈥� is any message sent to an electronic account, e.g. an email, a text message, or an instant message.  Interactive two-way voice communications, fax messages or voice recordings sent to a telephone account are not considered to be electronic messages.

 A 鈥渃ommercial activity鈥� is broadly defined as 鈥渁ny particular transaction, act or conduct or any regular course of conduct that is of a commercial character, whether or not the person who carries it out does so in the expectation of profit鈥�.  Examples of commercial activities include purchasing, selling, bartering or leasing products, goods or services, or land; providing a business, investment or gaming opportunity; or advertising or promoting any of these activities. 

What are the exemptions to CASL?

Messages that do not relate to the core activities of 丁香园AV may nevertheless be exempted from CASL.  The exemptions are as follows:

• Messages sent by or on behalf of an individual to another individual with whom they have a personal or family relationship;
• Messages sent to a person who is engaged in a commercial activity and consists solely of an inquiry or application related to that activity;
• Messages sent within an organization that concern the activities of that organization;  
• Messages sent between organizations with a relationship that concern the activities of the receiving organization;
• Messages sent in response to requests, inquiries or complaints, or otherwise solicited by the recipient;
• Messages sent to satisfy, provide notice of, or enforce a right, legal or juridical obligation;
• Messages sent on an electronic messaging service if the required information and unsubscribe mechanism are readily available on the user interface, and the recipient has consented to receive the message;
• Messages sent to a limited-access secure and confidential account to which messages can only be sent by the person who provides the account;
• Messages that a sender reasonably believes will be accessed in a listed foreign state, and conform to the anti-spam laws of such foreign state;
• Messages sent by or on behalf of a registered charity as defined in s.248(1) of the Income Tax Act, and have as their primary purpose raising funds; and
• Messages sent by or on behalf of a political party or organization or a candidate for publicly elected office that has as its primary purpose soliciting a contribution. 

How CASL Affects Individuals Receiving Messages from 丁香园AV

What counts as consent to receive commercial electronic messages? 

The law contemplates two types of consent: express consent or implied consent.

Express consent means that someone has explicitly given consent to receive commercial messages from a 丁香园AV sender (unit, group, team, etc.). Express consent could be collected through an online form, or it can be collected in person.

Implied consent is time limited and occurs if someone has a pre-existing relationship with a 丁香园AV unit, person or representative, and they have not subsequently unsubscribed or otherwise revoked that consent (despite the existing relationship).  An academic department or school has a prior business relationship with its students and/or their parents, as they pay tuition and fees.  Non-business relationships exist with volunteers and donors.

Under the legislation, 丁香园AV has three years from July 1, 2014, during which it can assume implied consent for anyone with a prior relationship with the University dating from before July 1, 2014, and for whom it has no record from which to establish the beginning or end of that relationship. This is informally called 鈥渢ransitional implied consent鈥�.

Normally, implied consent expires two years from the date on which a relationship with 丁香园AV ends (for example, when a student graduates), or the last date from which the establishment of that relationship can be calculated (e.g. the last donation date of a donor).

If someone does not provide consent, the University may still send that person electronic messages that do not contain commercial content.  The University may also continue to send messages that have as their primary purpose raising funds for the University. 

What do I agree to by providing consent? 

You agree to receive messages that have commercial content from particular 丁香园AV units, staff or representatives.  You can unsubscribe at any time from emails you no longer want to receive.

Your consent will be recorded and stored to ensure that, going forward, we send commercial messages only to those individuals for whom we have consent.

For most people, providing consent will mean that nothing changes to the emails you currently receive from 丁香园AV. 

Will I continue to receive electronic messages from 丁香园AV if I do nothing? 

You might continue to receive commercial emails if we have your implied consent.  If you no longer wish to receive this type of email, you can unsubscribe at any time.

Implied consent exists if you have an existing relationship with 丁香园AV as defined by CASL, such as taking courses, attending a paid event, volunteering or making a donation.

You may also still receive electronic messages that do not contain commercial content.  This mostly includes news and information items and fundraising appeals. 

I unsubscribed to email from 丁香园AV.  Why do I still keep getting messages?

Messages from the university can come from several different sources: the President鈥檚 Office, your faculty and Alumni Relations to name just a few.

Every commercial email that the university sends has an option to unsubscribe.  However, unsubscribing from one email list may not remove you from every mailing list. 

Other CASL Requirements

What are the other CASL requirements?

In addition to the requirements related to CEMs, CASL also contains the following prohibitions:

Installing unwanted computer programs: In order to prevent the installation of viruses, spyware, and other unwanted programs, CASL prohibits the installation of any program without the consent of the computer owner.

Altering transmission data: CASL prohibits the alteration of transmission data in an electronic message so that the message is delivered to a destination other than that specified by the sender.

Providing false or misleading information: CASL prohibits false or misleading information in CEMs, including:

• any representation in the body of the message that is false or misleading in a material respect;
• any false or misleading representation made in a 鈥渓ocator鈥�, i.e. a name, URL, or other information used to identify the source of data in a computer system; and
• any false or misleading representation in the 鈥淔rom鈥� or 鈥淪ubject鈥� line of a message.

Harvesting addresses: CASL prohibits the use of programs that 鈥渉arvest鈥� email addresses to create mailing lists.

Collecting personal information: CASL prohibits the use of computer systems to collect personal information without authority.