Phishing expeditions to become illegal under new anti-spam law

The federal government tabled anti-spam legislation in the House of Commons last Friday, proposing to make it illegal for organizations to send unwanted commercial email and conduct phishing expeditions. But Bill C-27 goes even further by proposing to repeal the controversial Do-Not-Call telemarketing law. The 70-page bill, referred to in its short form as the Electronic Commerce Protection Act, proposes a large number of changes to existing legislation. Among some of the key provisions is the requirement for organizations to get consent from individuals before sending them commercial email; administrative monetary penalties ranging from $1 million up to $10 million on law breakers; and allowing consumers to initiative civil action against spammers to recoup lost investment and expenses as well as other monetary damages. Bill C-27 also addresses the use of malicious software to send spam and gain access to personal information by making their use illegal. The proposed legislation prohibits the use of phishing techniques and the use of botnets – software that takes over personal computers and sends spam through those Internet connections. This bill has been four years in the making. In May 2004, the federal government convened the National Task Force on Spam, which recommended a year later that it introduce anti-spam legislation. The task force called for an opt-in regime for commercial emailing, awarding significant damages to those who pursue spammers in civil court, and adopting new anti-spam laws – much of what is contained in Bill C-27. At the time, Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa and member of the task force, said: “I think the report provides the clearest road map Canada has for dealing with spam.” The Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP) welcomed the proposed anti-spam legislation. “With millions of infected computers on the Internet sending spam, the problem will spin out of control unless we have additional tools. Technology has been working well but without the added clout of civil and criminal liability, spammers and criminals will continue to try to thwart technical solutions,” CAIP chair Tom Copeland said in a statement. Moves to abolish Do-Not-Call List Perhaps the biggest surprise in the proposed legislation is section 86, repealing parts of the Telecommunications Act which set out the legislative framework for the National Do-Not-Call List. In his blog today, Geist suggests the government is laying the ground work to eventually shut down the National DNCL. He has been an outspoken critic of the telemarketing legislation, saying it has too many exceptions, hasn’t worked in cutting down the amount of unsolicited telemarketing to Canadian homes and alleges conflict of interest for the list operator Bell Canada. Referring to documents retrieved under Access to Information, Geist says the CRTC receives more than 20,000 telemarketing-related complaints each month – the number associated with the DNCL is smaller because this figure includes other telecom rules. In January for example, Bell reported that 42 do-not-call violations were subsequently investigated by the CRTC, while 3,033 national do-not-call complaints were ruled invalid. According to the documents, the commission has sent out approximately 70 letters threatening action. Fines for corporations could be up to $15,000 per infraction. To date, notes Geist, the CRTC hasn’t fined anyone or any organization.

Phishing expeditions to become illegal under new anti-spam law

News | 04/27/2009 6:39 pm EDT

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