Canada’s ECPA Legislation Passed the Third Reading

On December 3, 2009, it was announced by the respectable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry, (Ottawa, Canada) that in the House of Commons, the proposed ECPA (Electronic Commerce Protection Act) has unanimously passed the third reading. As the next step in the legislative process, the Act is now proceeding to the Senate, as reported by exchangemagazine.com on December 3, 2009.

If any one goes against the ECPA or anti-spam act, this legislation or bill would permit consumers and businesses to take civil action against the offender. This bill will give the Competition Bureau, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner the authority to share proofs and information with their equivalents in other countries who implement similar (anti-spam) laws globally, so that criminals beyond Canada's boundaries cannot use Canada to operate their malicious business.

According to the ECPA, business groups using spam for marketing purposes could be charged with the administrative monetary penalties of up to $10 Million and individual spammers, up to $1 Million.

Such an act will be an option that will show the spammers that penalties do exist for their misdeeds. Also, the government expects that this step will be more than a fine, substantial enough for the offenders to deal with, and it will probably curtail such malicious activities.

Moreover, this legislation will help Canada to become a leader in the digital economy as it will ensure a safer marketplace. The Senate is expected to act immediately on this bill to ensure protection for Canadian consumers, said Clement.

As a matter of fact, passing of the proposed bill is much required because Canada is the host to around 5% of the global spam. In terms of spamming, Canada holds the fourth position globally following Russia and just before Brazil. The government presented these statistics provided by Cisco, vendor of network management and networking equipment for the Internet.

However, the effectiveness of Canada's new anti-spam law remains to be experienced as despite hundreds of cases pending in US courts and huge penalties being imposed, there doesn't seem to be a dent in the spam levels.

Related article: Canada - A Major Stimulator of Spam, Says Cisco

» SPAMfighter News - 12/14/2009