Anti-Spam Compliance Policy

I. BACKGROUND

Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (“CASL”) prohibits the sending of a “commercial electronic message” (“CEM”) to an electronic address unless:

  1. the person to whom the message is sent has consented to receiving it, AND
  2. the message complies with prescribed form and content requirements.   

The potential penalties for non-compliance with CASL are significant and include administrative monetary penalties of up to $10,000,000 for corporations. 

II. PURPOSE AND SCOPE

The purpose of this Anti-Spam Compliance Policy (“Policy”) is to facilitate compliance with CASL by Company (“Company”).
This Policy applies to all associates (whether full-time, part-time or contract) of Company (collectively, “Associates”).  

III. WHAT IS A CEM?

A CEM is an electronic message, such as an email message, text message, or direct message sent through social media or a messaging app, that has as its purpose, or one of its purposes, to encourage participation in a commercial activity.

Examples of CEMs sent by Company include electronic messages that wholly or partly:

  • Advertise or promote the services, products or expertise of Company or its Associates
  • Promote Company or its public image
  • Solicit business from current or prospective investors

Note that CASL only applies to electronic messages that are sent to electronic addresses.  For this reason, online advertising and posts on a Company social media page or website are not subject to CASL. 

IV. WHEN CAN I SEND A CEM?

AL13® collects personal information directly from you or from interactions with you.  We may also collect information automatically when you visit the site (see Cookies and Similar Tools below).

The personal information AL13® collects includes your name, title and contact information and other information that you may choose to provide.

Our Purposes for Collecting Personal Information

CEMs may only be sent in the following circumstances:

  1. Existing Customers

A CEM may be sent to a representative of an existing Company customer unless they have unsubscribed from Company communications.

An entity will be considered an existing Company customer if it has:

  • Purchased a product from Company within the previous 2 years
  • Accepted a business opportunity with Company within the past 2 years
  • Has a written contract with Company that is in existence or expired within the past 2 years; or
  • Has inquired or applied, or is in negotiations in respect of, about any of the above within the past 6 months.

Note: CASL treats affiliates as third parties, so a relationship (as defined above) with a Company subsidiary or affiliate will not create a relationship with Company for the purposes of CASL.

  1. Prospective Customers

A CEM may be sent to a representative of a prospective Company customer who has not unsubscribed from Company communications if:

  • The representative has provided his or her business card or electronic address to Company, or has caused his/her electronic address to be conspicuously published (for example, on a company website, in a business directory or conference attendee list), AND
  • The representative has not requested not to be contacted, AND
  • The message relates to the recipients role in a business or official capacity.

Associates must retain evidence of compliance with the above requirements, for example, by retaining a copy of the business card or business directory with the representatives name, title and contact information, and recording the date upon which the card/directory was obtained.

  1. Express Consent

A CEM may be sent to a representative of an existing or prospective customer who has given express consent.  Any request for express consent must meet the following requirements:

  1. Must be opt-in. This means that the representative must take a positive step to confirm consent (like checking an un-checked box).
  2. Must be stand-alone. Consent cannot be bundled with other terms (for example, with agreement to terms and conditions of purchase).
  3. Must include the following information:
    • the purposes for which consent is being sought
    • Company name
    • Company mailing address, and one of a telephone number providing access to an agent or voice messaging system, an email address or a web address
    • a statement that the person can withdraw their consent

Different requirements apply if consent is sought by an affiliate or third party on behalf of Company.  Please check with Legal in these circumstances.

Note that an electronic message requesting express consent to send CEMs is itself deemed to be a CEM.  This means that a request for express consent cannot be sent electronically unless you are otherwise permitted to send CEMs to the recipient (see above). 

Associates must retain records that express consent was obtained.

V. FORM AND CONTENT REQUIREMENTS

Service Providers. AL13® may transfer personal information to service providers that perform certain services on our behalf including data hosting and processing, shipping, customer service, call center, marketing and analytics and similar services. These service providers are only permitted to process personal information for the purposes of providing services to us, and for no other purposes.  Some of AL13®’s service providers may be located in countries whose data protection laws are not as protective as those in Canada, including in the United States.  As a result, these laws may permit government and national security authorities to access personal data in certain circumstances. 

Business Transactions. We may use and disclose personal information to parties connected with the proposed or actual financing, insuring, sale or other disposal of all or part of our business or assets, for purposes connected to evaluating and performing the transaction, and carrying on the purchased business after the transaction has completed.

VI. COMPLIANCE

Non-compliance with this Policy can lead to disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.

VII. QUESTIONS

The file containing your personal information is maintained on our servers or those of our service provider and is accessible by authorized employees and representatives who require access for the purposes described in this policy.  AL13® retains your personal information as long as it is required for the reasons it was collected, to fulfill AL13®’s legitimate business needs to retain personal information for auditing, reporting or dispute resolution purposes, or to otherwise comply with legal requirements.

Cookies and Similar Tools

Questions about this Policy or the requirements of CASL should be directed to info@al13.com

Other Sites

AL13®’s sites may have links to other sites or services not provided by us, including social media sites that AL13® may use along with you.  These sites or services have different privacy practices and policies than AL13® and AL13 recommends that you to review their privacy policies to determine if they are acceptable to you.  AL13® is not responsible for the privacy policies and practices of third party sites.

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