Canada Stop FISA Now Movement
2013-05-29 08:18:06 UTC
Dear Canadian Business,
A new Canadian law may be introduced soon that will severely
impact commercial email marketing in Canada - for the WORSE.
The law (known as the Fighting Internet And Wirless Spam Act or
FISA) severely restricts ANY Canadian business' ability to use
Email Marketing by requiring each business to ONLY email market
to prospects who have given that business EXPLICIT WRITTEN
PERMISSION to send that prospect marketing emails.
FISA means Canadian Businesses can no longer email market to
prospective customers such as:
- contacts from your business card collection
- business cards you or your company collected at trade shows,
networking events, or any other business or personal events
you've ever attended where you've made contacts
- email databases of targeted prospects you've acquired from ANY
source
- prospective customers you've found on popular online
classifieds sites like Craig's List or Kijiji or any other place
on the internet where your prospective customers are present
Violating FISA can result in fines of upto $10 million for
Canadian businesses.
If FISA is allowed to become an enforceable law, it will greatly
restrict E-Commerce in Canada by limiting Canadian businesses'
Email Marketing capabilities greatly.
Worse yet, we predict FISA will make Canadian businesses
reluctant to use Email Marketing at all for fear of incurring the
extremely heavy fines associated with violating FISA.
As FISA stands, it DOES NOTHING for furthering the law's stated
goal: increasing Canadian consumer confidence in using E-Commerce
as a means of conducting business transactions. It will NOT help
reduce Phishing, Identity Theft or any other types of illegal
activity regularly propagated through email. In fact, FISA is
detrimental to this goal because it will discourage Canadian
businesses from using Commercial Email Marketing.
What If FISA Becomes Enforceable Law in Canada?
Under FISA, Canadian consumers will be more likely to buy from
American or International businesses who are relatively
unrestricted in their Email Marketing practices.
THE SOLUTION
The United States has had the CAN-SPAM act in place since 2003.
The CAN-SPAM act does not require American businesses to have
EXPLICIT WRITTEN PERMISSION to send them marketing emails. We
maintain the CAN-SPAM act is a just law for that should be
mirrored in any Canadian law governing Commercial Email
Marketing.
Repealing and/or Amending FISA to match the US's CAN-SPAM Act
will allow Canadian businesses to much more freely use Email
Marketing for reaching prospective customers as US businesses
currently can. It will also encourage more Canadian consumers to
do business with Canadian businesses.
FISA should resemble the US's CAN-SPAM act regulating commercial
email.
FISA is already law but will not be enforced until estimated mid
2013. Help us fight this law now by signing our petition before
it's too late! Visit http://stopfisanow.com to get involved.
All comments posted by Canadian businesses and concerned citizens
on our online petition will be automatically forwarded via email
to several key politicians in Canada including Federal Minister
of Industry Christian Paradis. Make Your Voice Heard Today!
A new Canadian law may be introduced soon that will severely
impact commercial email marketing in Canada - for the WORSE.
The law (known as the Fighting Internet And Wirless Spam Act or
FISA) severely restricts ANY Canadian business' ability to use
Email Marketing by requiring each business to ONLY email market
to prospects who have given that business EXPLICIT WRITTEN
PERMISSION to send that prospect marketing emails.
FISA means Canadian Businesses can no longer email market to
prospective customers such as:
- contacts from your business card collection
- business cards you or your company collected at trade shows,
networking events, or any other business or personal events
you've ever attended where you've made contacts
- email databases of targeted prospects you've acquired from ANY
source
- prospective customers you've found on popular online
classifieds sites like Craig's List or Kijiji or any other place
on the internet where your prospective customers are present
Violating FISA can result in fines of upto $10 million for
Canadian businesses.
If FISA is allowed to become an enforceable law, it will greatly
restrict E-Commerce in Canada by limiting Canadian businesses'
Email Marketing capabilities greatly.
Worse yet, we predict FISA will make Canadian businesses
reluctant to use Email Marketing at all for fear of incurring the
extremely heavy fines associated with violating FISA.
As FISA stands, it DOES NOTHING for furthering the law's stated
goal: increasing Canadian consumer confidence in using E-Commerce
as a means of conducting business transactions. It will NOT help
reduce Phishing, Identity Theft or any other types of illegal
activity regularly propagated through email. In fact, FISA is
detrimental to this goal because it will discourage Canadian
businesses from using Commercial Email Marketing.
What If FISA Becomes Enforceable Law in Canada?
Under FISA, Canadian consumers will be more likely to buy from
American or International businesses who are relatively
unrestricted in their Email Marketing practices.
THE SOLUTION
The United States has had the CAN-SPAM act in place since 2003.
The CAN-SPAM act does not require American businesses to have
EXPLICIT WRITTEN PERMISSION to send them marketing emails. We
maintain the CAN-SPAM act is a just law for that should be
mirrored in any Canadian law governing Commercial Email
Marketing.
Repealing and/or Amending FISA to match the US's CAN-SPAM Act
will allow Canadian businesses to much more freely use Email
Marketing for reaching prospective customers as US businesses
currently can. It will also encourage more Canadian consumers to
do business with Canadian businesses.
FISA should resemble the US's CAN-SPAM act regulating commercial
email.
FISA is already law but will not be enforced until estimated mid
2013. Help us fight this law now by signing our petition before
it's too late! Visit http://stopfisanow.com to get involved.
All comments posted by Canadian businesses and concerned citizens
on our online petition will be automatically forwarded via email
to several key politicians in Canada including Federal Minister
of Industry Christian Paradis. Make Your Voice Heard Today!