Electronic Commerce Protection Act
The Electronic Commerce Protection Act is anti-spam legislation introduced in 2009 by the Government of Canada at the House of Commons.
History
Spam legislation in Canada was first introduced in 2004 when the Anti‐Spam Action Plan for Canada was launched. The Government of Canada assembled a group of industry representatives, scholars, and experts to examine the problems created by spam in Canada and how to potentially address them. The first Canadian bill directly addressing spam was Senator Yoine Goldstein’s Bill S‐202. Bill S-202 was introduced in 2008 and sought to prohibit unsolicited commercial messages, requiring explicit consent from the recipient. In 2009, the Minister of Industry, Tony Clement, introduced Bill C‐27 or the Electronic Commerce Protection Act. The ECPA died on the order paper in December 2009, after the bill cleared the House of Commons committee. The ECPA was quickly re‐introduced as the Fighting Internet and Wireless Spam Act, Bill C‐28 – a name that more closely reflected the original political message of the Conservative Party of Canada.Finally, December 15, 2010, the Government of Canada passed the Fighting the Internet and Wireless Spam Bill. The coming into force of the ECPA had been delayed for three and a half years because of very intense lobbying efforts by industry groups. The Electronic Commerce Protection Act selectively came into effect on July 1, 2014. Because of ongoing fierce lobbying other parts of the Act relating to the unsolicited installation of computer programs was delayed until January 15, 2015.
Government information
The government website offers insight and detailed information on both the implementation and the enforcement of spam legislation. According to the Canadian government, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission will be the enforcement agency and issue administrative monetary penalties for violations of the spam legislation. Additionally, the Competition Bureau is supposed to seek "administrative monetary penalties and criminal sanctions under the Competition Act." The Office of the Privacy Commissioner is given "new powers under an amended Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act".Purpose
The purpose of the Act is "to promote the efficiency and adaptability of the Canadian economy by regulating commercial conduct that discourages the use of electronic means to carry out commercial activities because that conduct:- impairs the availability, reliability, efficiency and optimal use of electronic means to carry out commercial activities;
- imposes additional costs on businesses and consumers;
- compromises privacy and the security of confidential information; and
- undermines the confidence of Canadians in the use of electronic means of communication to carry out their commercial activities in Canada and abroad."