Make charts – use the flow chart from
work T didn’t get – and brand them with CASL Canada
CASL
(Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation) and Social Media
Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (“CASL”)
is one of the toughest anti-spam legislations in the world. CASL impacts how
businesses can interact and communicate with their clients or prospective clients
on social media platforms. However, when it comes to social media, the rules
are somewhat unclear and confusing. This short FAQ will address some of the
common questions that arise when marketing or advertising on social media sites
like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, WhatsApp and others.
When
does CASL apply?
At a base level (and barring some
exceptions), CASL applies when you send a commercial
electronic message (“CEM”) to an electronic
address. A CEM is defined as any electronic messages that encourages participation
in a commercial activity. This definition is very broad and treated very openly
and goes far beyond just advertising and promoting. Almost every message a
business will send will be a CEM. Refer to our
guide on “What is a CEM?” for more information. An electronic address includes
things such as an email address or a social media account or at @ mention. Refer to our guide on “What is a CEM?” for more information.
However, content that is posted
publically on a blog or profile page is not a CEM because it is not being sent
to anyone.
Does
CASL apply if I am sending a message using my personal social network account
and not the business social network account (for example, a Facebook business page)?
CASL will apply to messages you send to
others if they are CEMs – regardless which account you send it from. For example,
if you send a message on Facebook from your personal account that advertises or
promotes on behalf of a business, then CASL applies.
What
happens when CASL applies?
If CASL applies to a CEM that you are
sending to an electronic address, then firstly, you cannot send the message
unless the person you are sending the message to has given you prior consent to
do so. Put simply, unless the person has given you consent to receive CEMs, you
cannot send them the message. For some limited
exceptions to this rule please refer to our guide.
Secondly, you must include information
identifying you and an unsubscribe link in the message that you send. For more information on the information that you must
include in a CEM please refer to our guide on.
FACEBOOK
Does
CASL apply to Facebook?
Yes. Many businesses have a business profile
“page”. Additionally, CASL may apply to your personal account as well if you
use it to send messages on behalf of the business (see above).
Are
Status Updated Caught by CASL?
CASL will apply to a status update if you
are tagging or doing an “@ mention” of another person or account on Facebook.
If you are tagging someone you must make sure you have consent from them to
receive commercial electronic messages. Please see our not on receiving and
using consent here.
Some business attempt to use the personal
relationship exception to get by this rule. However, this is incorrect. The
CRTC has commented that just being friends with someone on Facebook is not
enough to amount to a “personal relationship”. More is required. For more details on what is a personal relationship
exception please click here.
Does
CASL apply to Facebook wall posts?
Same rules apply here as they do to
status updates. Unless you are tagging someone directly, you can post
promotional content.
Does
CASL apply to Facebook Messenger?
Yes. Messages sent through Facebooks Messenger
are being sent to electronic addressees, and so they are caught by CASL.
Does
CASL apply when you tag someone on Facebook or make an “@ mention”
Facebook allows individuals to “tag”
others in a post or photo or do an “@mention”. When you tag someone they receive
a notification and your post may show up on that person’s wall. Because of
this, tagging someone is analogous to sending a message to an “electronic
address”, which bring it into the scope of a CASL.
Can
business post on other people’s Facebook walls?
No. you cannot post on their walls unless
you have received consent from them to do. For more information on getting
express and implied consent form individuals please click here.
Can
an employee use their personal Facebook account to post promotional content on
another person’s wall on behalf of the business?
This is a tricky area and you should be
cautious when you are attempting to do this. Generally, the answer to this
question is no. However, CASL does contain exemptions that could allow for
employees to post on other people’s walls content on behalf of the business.
This may be possible if the employee is
doing so out of their own interest – that is not because of a direction from
the employer – and the employee has and employer can fit the action under an
exemption. This is a complicated procedure and its best to avoid it. We will
speak more on this topic below, titled, how can we ask employees to spread the
word about an event we are holding?
Generally, you should posting this to
other people wall’s. Because walls are owned by the users they can be
considered as an electronic address. Thus, posting a message on their wall
would make CASL apply.
How
can we ask our employees to spread the word about an event, a product, or
promotion that the business is holding?
Well.
Heading – can a business post on a group
page?
Similar rule
would apply as above. No they cannot.
What happens when a user uses their personal
page as a business page?
Can you post a business post directly to
a friend’s wall? Any message that would promote the business would be
considered a CEM and CASL rules of consent would apply. Be careful because it
is not only messages that promote which are caught under CASL – they are caught
if any parts of them are commercial. So for example, a survey may be considered
as a CEM. in that case, you must have consent, either express or implied. Please
click here to read more on consent.
Can I send a message on Facebook
Messenger? Or Whatsapp?
Same rule applies. A message sent
trhough Facebook;s instant message service, or Whatsapp, or an internal messageing
service like direct messages for Instagram (DM’s), or internal twitter or
linkdin, would be considered messages to an electronic address. You would need consent.
Please read more about consent here.
What if I ran a content can I message
them then? Can I message the winner?
Will depend on how you got consent. If the
entrance rules cearly staes that you will need to contact htme, along with some
other ingotmaton that you can find by clicking here, then you may be able to do
it.
Can you tag people?
This would be considered as a message sent
to an electornic address. Unles you have consent you cannot tag them. @ mention
on twitter on FB instgagram or twitter. SO, a status update can be a CEM if you
tag someone
Inviting people to like
Run contests on social media -
Status updates
Wall posts
Tagging
@ mentions
Inviting to like
Addigint o group
Post on fb pages, post on community
pages
Can we ask employee to share event
invite?
Can I message them if they liked my
page?
Like a page is not similar to opting in
to receive direct messages. You cannot send messages to a user’s inbox if they
only liked your page, (followed you on Instagram or Twitter).
Can you get consent from a status update
asking ppl to comment or like to indicate thie rinterest to receive cems? – yea
I think so