Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL)

We are committed to reducing the harmful effects of spam and related threats. Our goal is to help create a safer and more secure online marketplace. To that end, we help enforce what we call Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (external link).

In partnership with Canada’s Competition Bureau and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, we work together to enforce this legislation.

We have the primary enforcement responsibility, including powers to investigate and take action against violators, and set administrative monetary penalties. We target those who send commercial electronic messages without the recipient’s consent or install programs on computers or networks without express consent. This includes malware, spyware and viruses in computer programs, in spam messages, or downloaded through infected Web links.

We also work to promote compliance among organisations and individuals, ensuring that businesses have the information they need to compete in the global marketplace.

More on how the CRTC helps protect Canadians.