In Part 1 of this blog series on digital advertising, we canvassed the disclosure rules in light of the recent the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s recent publication, “.com Disclosures, How to Make Effective Disclosures in Digital Advertising”. In Part 2 of this blog series, we will set out some tips and guidelines to assist businesses in complying… → Read More
Category Archives: E-Commerce
Subscribe to E-Commerce RSS FeedHow to “.Com”ply with Disclosure Rules for Digital Advertising
Part 1: Avoiding Deceptive Advertising in the Digital Age
Posted in Consumer Protection, E-Commerce, Regulatory ComplianceDoes the medium matter? According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s recent publication, “.com Disclosures, How to Make Effective Disclosures in Digital Advertising”, consumer protection laws apply equally to all forms of media and devices, including smartphones, tablets, Facebook, Twitter and the internet. The new FTC guidance, released on March 12, 2013, is an update… → Read More
CRTC Reports on CASL Consultation
Posted in E-CommerceOn February 25, 2013 the CRTC staff held an informal consultation with industry and consumer groups following the October 2012 release of CRTC’s guidelines regarding the interpretation of its CASL regulations (the “Consultation”) (To read a more detailed analysis of the Guidelines issued by the CRTC, see our related post on this topic). On April… → Read More
Règlement canadien anti-pourriels publié pour une période de 30 jours de consultation
Posted in E-CommerceThe English version of this article is available here. Le projet du règlement afférent à la Loi canadienne anti-pourriels (LCAP) a été publié le 5 janvier 2013 dernier dans la Gazette du Canada pour une période de consultation d’une durée de 30 jours. Ce projet tant attendu représente l’étape législative finale d’un des régimes les… → Read More
Canadian Anti-Spam Regulations Published for a 30-Day Comment Period
Posted in E-CommerceLa version française de cet article est publiée ici. The revised draft of the Industry Canada Regulations pertaining to Canada’s new anti-spam/malware law (CASL) was published in the Canada Gazette on January 5, 2013 for a 30-day comment period. The highly anticipated draft regulations represent the final legislative aspect of one of the world’s most… → Read More
Mobile Payments 2012
Posted in E-CommerceOn October 25, 2012, McCarthy Tétrault’s national Consumer Retail group held a lunchtime client conference on mobile payment systems and digital wallets. For those of you unable to attend, the following are a few of the highlights. But first, a little context for the uninitiated: Near-field communication technology (NFC) allows a user with a mobile phone, equipped with the… → Read More
CRTC Issues Guidelines on Canada’s Anti-Spam Law
Posted in E-CommerceThe CRTC has issued two sets of interpretative guidelines addressing important parts of Canada’s new anti-spam law (CASL). While guidance on CASL is welcome, these guidelines reinforce the great lengths to which many businesses will need to go to in order to ensure compliance. The guidelines focus on the CRTC’s interpretation of the regulations it… → Read More
1930 Applications for New Generic Top Level Domains Published
Posted in E-Commerce, Intellectual PropertyAn eagerly awaited list of applications for new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) was recently revealed, disclosing 1930 applications for a wide variety of potential new gTLDs. These ranged from multiple applications for expected gTLDs such as .app and .shop, to more unexpected gTLDs such as .sucks and .webcam. The number of applications is particularly surprising given… → Read More
Hot Off the Press – Canadian Telecommunications Regulatory Handbook
Posted in E-Commerce, Privacy, Regulatory ComplianceMcCarthy Tétrault has just published Canadian Telecommunications Regulatory Handbook by partner Hank Intven. The Handbook provides a detailed summary of Canadian telecommunications law and regulation and is a convenient single reference source for the text of the laws, treaties, regulations, directions, orders, rules and other key documents that govern Canadian telecommunications regulation. This Handbook includes… → Read More
Do Not Track – Recent Developments in the World of Online Behavioural Advertising
Posted in E-Commerce, PrivacyLast week was a big week for “Do Not Track” (DNT) developments: Google officially joined company with a coalition of big internet players for voluntary controls on Online Behavioural Advertising (OBA). The controls take the form of an industry spanning self-regulatory program, backed by the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA), that aims to provide a consistent… → Read More
Ten Tech Law Resolutions for 2012
Posted in Consumer Protection, Copyright, E-Commerce, Intellectual Property, PrivacyJanuary is a great time to make some resolutions for the coming year. In addition to the personal ones you have made, here are 10 involving tech issues that are (or should be) important to your organization. 1. Closing the Loop on Open-Source Open-source software code and other types of materials and technical artefacts that are subject… → Read More
Online Brand Protection Strategies – Five Steps to Developing Your Plan
Posted in E-Commerce, Intellectual PropertyA company’s brand is a key asset and needs protection both offline and online - so if you haven’t yet embarked on an online brand protection strategy, where do you start? Your trade-mark, or brand name, is what distinguishes you from your competitors. In effect, trade-marks provide a shortcut to get consumers to where they want to go (as described by Mr… → Read More
Privacy Commissioner Releases New Online Behavioural Advertising Guidelines
Posted in E-Commerce, Privacy, Regulatory ComplianceThe Privacy Commissioner of Canada recently released new guidelines to assist organizations involved in online behavioural advertising (OBA) ensure that their practices are transparent and comply with the federal private sector privacy legislation. The guidelines are attention-span friendly, weighing in at three pages, with few surprises and largely high-level takeaways. The guidelines accept that OBA may be “considered a reasonable purpose under… → Read More
Do Not Track and Online Behavioural Advertising – Part II: Best Practices
Posted in Consumer Protection, E-Commerce, PrivacyWith the push from users and legislators towards DNT and with most browsers providing users with the choice of a DNT setting, it is important for businesses to be ahead of the curve. In addition to an organization’s existing policies and safeguards under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), businesses should have… → Read More
Do Not Track and Online Behavioural Advertising – Part I: Coming to a Parliament Near You?
Posted in Consumer Protection, E-Commerce, PrivacyPrivacy versus personalized content – it is the tension that underlies online behavioural advertising (OBA), and increasingly that tension is threatening to snap. OBA is the practice of tracking consumer’s online activities in order to deliver targeted marketing. Businesses stitch together information, like the websites a consumer visits, the content a consumer views and the searches… → Read More
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