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Category: Act!
Written by Ken Quigley
January 12 2017

As we head into 2017, we've been asked many questions about the implications of the July 1st deadline for the final stage of CASL, as well as our own compliance product, Act4CASL. With fines into the millions of dollars, business owners are concerned.

The following are a list of frequently asked questions about CASL and Act4CASL.

  • How is Act4CASL different than the service you offered in 2014 when CASL was first announced?
    - Act4CASL is an annual subscription, whereas the last one only lasted 3-months.
    - Act4CASL also allows you to edit your email template, generate unique contact links for Opt-ins, and additional delivery options, as well as having better support for browser based emails services. 
  • Isn't the opt-in request email a violation of CASL?
    No, CASL generally permits opt-in requests as they are deemed as an attempt at compliance. These emails must not be promoting other products or services while making such requests. As we're not lawyers, we encourage everyone to seek indepoendant legal advice on this matter.
  • Do I still need an email service provider if I use Act4CASL?
    Yes, Act4CASL needs to be configured with your email settings in order to deliver the email. Services like SendGrid and others can offer an alternative. As Act4CASL was designed to deliver to your "Lookups" in Act!, we encourage you to send out your opt-in requests in smaller batches to avoid possible blacklisting.
  • Do I need Act4CASL if a customers gives me verbal permission to email?
    Absolutely. CASL puts the burden of proof on the sender to establish they have consent. Recording verbal consent will obviously be weak in the face of a complaint from someone that provided such permission. Act4CASL records the date, time, unique transaction code of the consent, as well as the IP address of those providing it.
  • Isn't it enough that I provide an opt-out option with my emails?
    No, the opt-out option is a provision of the CANSPAM Act of 2003 in the the United States. CASL requires an opt-in permission from your recipients.
  • My contact has done business with us, and requested information from our business in the past, surely that constitutes "consent"?
    Perhaps not, as that is considered "implied" consent, which has fixed durations depending on how the implied consent was provided. For instance, most implied permissions granted on July 1st, 2014 expire July 1st, 2017. Some implied consents lasted only six months.
  • What happens with CASL on July 1s, 2017?
    No one knows the full extent of the impact, but certain changes are clear. Private businesses and citizens will be able to take civil action against CASL offenders for sums up to $10 million. As mentioned previously, many "implied" consents from 2014 will expire, and the Canadian government will have clearer enforcement guidelines for prosecution with CASL fully implemented by that date. Currently it is in the midst of a transitional deployment.
    The Canadian government is also required to perform a mandatory review of CASL on July first, and no one knows what will come of that.
  • I'm concerned about my customer's privacy, what information is stored on your Act4CASL servers?
    ​The only data stored on our server is your contact's Act! GUID (a unique 32 alphanumeric code that means nothing outside of Act!), and their recorded respond to your opt-in request. To provide even great privacy assurance, this information gets wiped from our servers when Act4CASL syncs the online updates with your database.
  • Is using Act4CASL a guarantee I'll be in compliance with CASL?
    ​No, Act4CASL simply manages your opt-in requests to ensure you have proper permission to send emails to your contacts. There are still a number of compliance conditions to consider when e-marketing. Using 3rd party services like Act! E-Marketing or Swiftpage E-Marketing improve your chances of better compliance. They will ensure unsubscribe options are included with your email, and make sure your business provides proper identification at the bottom of your emails. Even with these safeguards in place, businesses are still required to avoid deceptive advertising tactics like misleading or irrelevant subject lines.
    ​Most importantly, Act4CASL updates your Act! database with opt-in data to allow you to more easily target only those contacts who have granted you permission to email them. It is incumbant upon each Act! user to incorporate these consents into their marketing targets.
  • If Act4CASL records a consent from a contact, am I safe to email them forever?
    ​Explicit consent does not expire, but it can be revoked. If a contact requests to revoke their consent, that consent must be honored.
  • As an American, am I safe to spam Canadians?
    ​No. Businesses outside of Canada are still subject to CASL, and Canadians can launch private civic action against foreign CASL offenders. It may naturally be more difficult to prosecute or sue foreigners, but CASL explicitly provides the authority to do so.

 

Act4CASL is a software application, not a substitute for legal advice
Keystroke is not a legal firm, nor do we pretend to be qualified to offer legal advice, so we encourage everyone to seek independant legal advice regarding their CASL compliance requirements. CASL is a complex piece of legislation with many exceptions, conditions, and restrictions that cannot be adequately summarized in a blog.
Act4CASL is a software application that offers an efficient, time-savings option for managing opt-in requests with the Act! CRM program to help our customers more easily comply with CASL, and should be considered as only one part of an overall CASL compliance strategy.

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