Vic Toews, Member of Parliament for Provencher and President of the Treasury Board stated that the proposed Electronic Commerce Protection Act (ECPA) will deter the most dangerous, destructive and malicious forms of spam from occurring in Canada.
“Anyone who regularly uses the internet has encountered spam. It has become a vehicle for a wide range of threats to online commerce affecting individuals, businesses and network providers. It’s time steps are taken to combat spam and ensure privacy and security on the internet and I applaud Industry Minister Tony Clement for bringing forward this legislation,” said Toews.
Spam can lead to the theft of personal data (identity theft); online fraud luring individuals to counterfeit websites (phishing); the collection of personal information through illicit access to computer systems (spyware); and false or misleading representations in the online marketplace.
As part of the proposed Electronic Commerce Protection Act, new legislative measures would complement the federal government’s previous efforts to address spam and related online threats. The proposed legislation will also address unsolicited text messages, or “cell phone spam” as an “unsolicited commercial electronic message.” This bill addresses the legislative recommendations of the Task Force on Spam, which brought together industry, consumer and academic experts to design a comprehensive package of measures to combat threats to the online economy.
“Through this legislation, we are taking action to reduce the burden on businesses and protect individual Canadians,” said Toews.
