Michael Geist of the University of Ottawa and Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP has published a fablulous new article in the Toronto Star reversing his previous position about Canadian spam regulations.
Previously, Geist had claimed "[t]he time has come to hit the delete key on current weak Canadian anti-spam policy and to begin work on crafting legislation that better protects Internet users."
In his new article, Professor Geist produces a dazzling array of existing Canadian law that could be used against spammers. He claims that Canada's spam problem is not "finding the spamming organizations nor . . . instituting fundamental legal reforms." Instead, Professor Geist blames Canadian government agencies for not enforcing existing law. While expressing some hope that CAN-SPAM suits against Canadian spammers might deter spamming, he claims law enforcement must take an active lead in tracking down and punishing spammers by using existing Canadian law.
For other countries, see the Spam Laws Worldwide Index.