Canadians are fed up with spam containing spyware. Thus the “Electronic Consumer Protection Act” has been proposed and is now awaiting committee hearings.
If enacted into law, this Canadian anti-spam and antispyware bill would strictly limit and prohibit the majority of dangerous spam containing spyware and phishing devices.
The law would require businesses to enable a strict opt-in policy requiring users to give their consent to be emailed. The same law would require software companies to request user consent to download and/or install new software.
This seems like a no-brainer, and something all companies should be doing. But it’s not as evident by the mountains of spam clogging inboxes the world over. This law isn’t targeting the “annoyance” factor so much as it is the danger factor: danger from spam containing spyware and adware or links to spyware. This is the real problem.
The Canadian anti-spam and anti-spyware law could result in the following fines for offenders: including penalties up to $10 million or 14 years in jail. Pretty tough penalties. I think they’re serious.
Opponents say this bill will impede legitimate businesses trying to advertise via email. But legitimate businesses shouldn’t have anything to worry about if they use a simple opt-in system.
Avoiding spyware via email is an important function of any good antispyware application. Check out the antispyware reviews on this site. I think you’ll find a good solution so you don’t get caught with unwanted or dangerous spyware.