Be sure to spend some time with our recent advisory on Canada’s Anti-Spam Law (CASL), now that compliance dates for rules governing commercial electronic messages (CEMs), software downloads, and related conduct have been set to start taking effect July 1, 2014. By comparison to U.S. CAN-SPAM law, CASL is broader and does not deal solely with email “spam,” but also reaches CEMs sent to instant message and social network accounts, and by short message service (SMS) texts to cell phones, too. CASL also regulates the installation of computer programs, as well as the and alteration of transmission data, and other computer-related conduct.

When the new law is fully in force, it will apply to all CEMs sent from or accessed by computer systems located in Canada, and thus governs CEMs sent from the other countries, including the United States. The next 6 to 12 months provided for compliance ramp-up are thus critical for all businesses in Canada—as well as for those in the U.S. who have a Canadian presence or who transmit CEMs or computer software downloads to be received or downloaded by Canadian residents. Access the advisory here.