Spam is one of the worst problems plaguing the internet and an end doesn’t seem to quite yet be in sight. Everyday millions of internet users all over the world are bombarded with spam emails that have the power to sour their online experience. While earlier spam emails mostly marketed the products of a specific company, these days spam emails are more dangerous. Some contain viruses that have the potential to damage or otherwise harm your computer. Spam causes corporations to lose billions of dollars each year. It has therefore become of primary concern that spam be kept in check.
There are a plethora of different ways in which internet surfers can protect themselves against spam. There are filters, blocks and software programs that are well equipped to do anything from combating email spam to keeping your computer spam-free. While there are a number of anti spam tools that are available, it also pays to have anti spam laws in place to bring the spammers to book. This ensures that spammers compensate the users for the damage that has been caused to them. Heavy penalties await people who have been convicted of spamming.
There have been many countries in the world who have responded to the problem of spam with anti spam laws. While there might not be anti spam laws in Canada as explicit as the CAN-SPAM Act in the United States, efforts are headed in that direction. The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) contains provisions which are aimed at protecting online privacy and others which deal with email marketing. There is, however, no law that has made spamming illegal in Canada.
On May 7th, 2008, there was the first reading of Bill S-235, also known as the Anti-Spam Act. The bill deals with four key items:
- Preventing address harvesting
- Dictionary attacks
- Phishing
- Content requirements for commercial emails
The bill gave internet service providers the authority to block or refuse spam messages. Businesses voluntarily using spam in their marketing efforts would also be held liable unless they took some action to stop the spamming. There is also a task force in place that will deal with spammers until there is a more comprehensive anti spam law in the country. The laws are deal with privacy legislation and competition. This ensures that the internet users are protected from the often malicious intentions of the spammers.
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