Kellogg Undertakes to Pay $60,000 for Alleged Violation of CASL

On September 1, 2016, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) issued a statement stating that Kellogg Canada Inc had voluntarily entered into an undertaking to fully and completely resolve all outstanding issues with respect to Kellogg’s or its subsidiaries’ alleged violation of paragraph 6(1)(a) of Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL).  

The CRTC alleged that commercial electronic messages (CEM) were sent by Kellogg and/or its third party service providers to recipients without consent during the period of October 1, 2014 to December 16, 2014. Kellogg chose to provide a voluntary undertaking, thereby avoiding the risk of an administrative monetary penalty. As part of the undertaking, Kellogg voluntarily agreed to make a monetary payment of $60,000, and agreed to update and implement various components of their compliance program and ensure that any third party authorized to send a CEM on its behalf complies with CASL.

In addition to the penalties (up to $1 million per violation for individuals and up to $10 million per violation for organization), violation of CASL’s CEM rules may also result in civil liability through a private right of action (commencing July 1, 2017) and vicarious liability of employers, directors and officers.

This case illustrates that CASL requirements may also be applicable in cases where a CEM is being sent out by third parties on behalf of a corporation. Accordingly, companies and individuals should take the appropriate measures to ensure that their or their partners’ CEM practices meet CASL’s requirements for consent, identification and unsubscribe mechanisms.