Archive for the 'Advertising' Category
The following are a few advertising and regulatory law developments that caught my eye today:
The CRTC has published final regulations to regulate loud television commercials: CRTC moves a step closer to making loud TV ads a thing of the past. Slaw.ca posted an interesting note by David Canton on the use of social media and Facebook for operating online contests: Commercial Users of Social Media Need to Check Terms of Use. The U.S. FTC published tips to protect information and computers from online scammers: Secure Your Computer. The Minister of Public Safety addressed trade, security and competition in remarks at the Can/Am Border Trade Alliance Conference: Speaking Notes for the Honourable Vic Toews Minister of Public Safety at the Can/Am Border Trade Alliance Conference. The Globe published an interesting article on fraudulent advertising and phishing in relation to bank log-in websites: Phishing, other malicious websites soar in Canada.
The National Competition Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association will be hosting a Marketing Practices Committee Roundtable with Competition Bureau officials in Toronto this Thursday.
Bureau representatives are to include Lisa Campbell (Deputy Commissioner of Fair Business Practices) and Brendan Ross (Major Case Director and Strategic Policy Advisor).
For more information see:
On April 29, 2012, the Federal Government announced proposed amendments to the Telecommunications Act that, if passed, would allow the CRTC to recover the cost of Do Not Call List investigations and enforcement efforts directly from the telemarketing industry in the form of fees.
In making the announcement, the Government said:
“Today, the Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture), announced additional action to protect consumers through sustainable funding for the National Do Not Call List.
‘The National Do Not Call List is a successful program that many Canadians rely on to protect them from unwanted telemarketing calls,’ said Minister Paradis. ‘Today’s announcement reinforces our government’s commitment to protecting consumers.’”
This new proposed initiative to assist with the financing of Do Not Call List investigations and enforcement would be implemented through amendments to the Telecommunications Act, introduced as part of provisions in the federal Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act, introduced late last week in the House of Commons (see: Bill C-38).
Other proposed changes as part of Bill C-38 include increasing the transparency of Canada’s Investment Canada Act review process (see: Federal Government announces Investment Canada Act changes to add transparency to Canadian foreign investment review process).
The Government also announced upcoming consultations on the proposed new fee structure for Do Not Call List investigations and enforcement, which, if passed, would come into effect in the Spring of 2013.
Canadian enforcement authorities, including the Competition Bureau and the CRTC, have recently been distinctly more aggressive in seeking penalties in a variety of advertising and marketing law cases – for example the recent sweeping enforcement steps taken by the CRTC against 85 companies for violating Canada’s telemarketing rules: 85 companies face CRTC telemarketing enforcement action.
CANADIAN CONTEST RULES/PRECEDENTS
Do you need contest rules/precedents
for a Canadian contest?
We offer many types of Canadian contest/sweepstakes law precedents and forms (i.e., Canadian contest/sweepstakes law precedents to run common types of contests in Canada). These include precedents for random draw contests (i.e., where winners are chosen by random draw), skill contests (e.g., essay, photo or other types of contests where entrants submit content that is judged to enter the contest or for additional entries), trip contests and more. Also available are individual Canadian contest/sweepstakes precedents, including short rules (“mini-rules”), long rules, winner releases and a Canadian contest law checklist. For more information or to order, see: Canadian Contest Law Forms/Precedents. If you would like to discuss legal advice in relation to your contest or other promotion, contact us: Contact.
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On April 26, 2012, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it negotiated a settlement of about $15.5 million with operators of an allegedly deceptive prize promotion scheme.
CANADIAN CASL (ANTI-SPAM LAW) PRECEDENTS
Do you need a precedent or checklist
to comply with CASL (Canadian anti-spam law)?
We offer Canadian anti-spam law (CASL) precedents and checklists to help electronic marketers comply with CASL. These include checklists and precedents for express consent requests (including on behalf of third parties), sender identification information, unsubscribe mechanisms, business related exemptions and types of implied consent and documenting consent and scrubbing distribution lists. We also offer a CASL corporate compliance program. For more information or to order, see: Anti-Spam (CASL) Precedents/Forms. If you would like to discuss CASL legal advice or for other advertising or marketing in Canada, including contests/sweepstakes, contact us: contact.
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April 24, 2012
The Federal Government appears to be enhancing its online anti-spam legislation resources in advance of Canada’s new Anti-spam Act coming into force. One of the latest examples of this is its new spam and fraud related glossary available at: Glossary. The Government’s new glossary includes definitions of many spam, fraud and Internet crime related terms. For more about Canada’s new anti-spam legislation see: Anti-spam Act.
Manitoba’s Consumer Protection Office has announced that new consumer protection laws for fair and clear cell phone contracts will come into effect later this year (on September 15, 2012).
According to the Consumer Protection Office, the new rules “focus on ensuring that contracts are clear and provide all important information for consumers” and to ensure that “cell phone contracts are fair to both consumers and businesses”.
The new legislation will: (i) require companies to provide a copy of the contract to consumers before the contract begins, (ii) require companies to fully disclose and explain all charges fees and terms, (iii) restrict companies from making unilateral changes to contract terms, (iv) allow consumers to cancel contracts at any time, for a reasonable cancellation fee, (v) require the minimum monthly cost to be included in advertisements, and (vi) restrict automatic contract renewals.
Manitoba’s decision to introduce stricter regulation of cell phone contracts and disclosure follows similar recent enforcement actions, including by the Competition Bureau (see: here), CRTC (see: here, here, here and here) and Canadian Transportation Agency (see: here), as well as a number of recent cases where significant or novel penalties were imposed, including a recent landmark Supreme Court of Canada misleading contest case in which punitive damages were awarded (see: here, here and here).
These cases and initiatives also appear to signal an increase in the regulation of advertising in Canada in general and heightened scrutiny of price advertising and disclosure in particular (see e.g.: Is the Price Right? Increased Regulatory Scrutiny and Class Actions for Representations Involving Price).
CANADIAN CASL (ANTI-SPAM LAW) PRECEDENTS
Do you need a precedent or checklist
to comply with CASL (Canadian anti-spam law)?
We offer Canadian anti-spam law (CASL) precedents and checklists to help electronic marketers comply with CASL. These include checklists and precedents for express consent requests (including on behalf of third parties), sender identification information, unsubscribe mechanisms, business related exemptions and types of implied consent and documenting consent and scrubbing distribution lists. We also offer a CASL corporate compliance program. For more information or to order, see: Anti-Spam (CASL) Precedents/Forms. If you would like to discuss CASL legal advice or for other advertising or marketing in Canada, including contests/sweepstakes, contact us: contact.
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April 24, 2012
In anticipation of Canada’s new Anti-spam Act coming into force, the federal Government has launched another tool for Canadian consumers and businesses – a “Fight Spam Quiz”. The quiz (or rather quizzes – one for consumers and another for businesses and organizations) include questions about scareware, phishing, Wi-Fi and security, spambots, malware, spam, viruses, corporate Internet and e-mail usage policies, VPNs (virtual private networks) and Denial of Service (DoS) attacks. To take the quiz see: Fight Spam Quiz
CANADIAN CASL (ANTI-SPAM LAW) PRECEDENTS
Do you need a precedent or checklist
to comply with CASL (Canadian anti-spam law)?
We offer Canadian anti-spam law (CASL) precedents and checklists to help electronic marketers comply with CASL. These include checklists and precedents for express consent requests (including on behalf of third parties), sender identification information, unsubscribe mechanisms, business related exemptions and types of implied consent and documenting consent and scrubbing distribution lists. We also offer a CASL corporate compliance program. For more information or to order, see: Anti-Spam (CASL) Precedents/Forms. If you would like to discuss CASL legal advice or for other advertising or marketing in Canada, including contests/sweepstakes, contact us: contact.
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April 15, 2012
The Federal Office of the Privacy Commissioner has launched a new and enhanced website that includes new anti-spam legislation information relating to the role of the Privacy Commissioner (see: Online Privacy: Fighting Electronic Spam and Other Online Threats).
Templates/precedents and checklists to run promotional contests in Canada
Templates/precedents and checklists to comply with Canadian anti-spam law (CASL)
