Post Tagged with: "Do-Not-Call"

CBC on iOptOut.ca

The CBC covers the CRTC's recent letters on iOptOut.ca with reaction from the CBA.

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August 6, 2008 Comments are Disabled News

CRTC Says iOptOut.ca Requests “Valid and Should be Honoured”

My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, Ottawa Citizen version, homepage version) builds on the CRTC's announcement last week that the national do-not-call registry (DNC) will be operational by September 30th.  I report that the CRTC also recently affirmed the ability for Canadians to use third-party websites – particularly iOptOut.ca – to opt-out telemarketing calls from organizations that are currently exempt under the law.

Last March, I established iOptOut.ca, a website that enables Canadians to opt-out of many exempted organizations with a few easy clicks at no cost. Visitors to the site are asked to enter their phone number (and email address if they wish) and to indicate their calling preferences for nearly 150 organizations. The public reaction has been extremely supportive.  Since its launch, the site has sent out millions of opt-out requests on behalf of tens of thousands of Canadians. The reaction from several leading associations has been less enthusiastic.  Within weeks of its debut, both the Canadian Marketing Association and the Canadian Bankers Association sent letters to CRTC Chair Konrad von Finckenstein complaining about the service and seeking support for their position that requests generated from the site were invalid.  In fact, the CMA sent a notice to its members stating that "it is the view of the Association that members need not honour do-not-call requests that originate from the organization in question."

Von Finckenstein recently responded to the letters (CMA letter, CBA letter – posted with CRTC permission) with an unequivocal rejection of the complaints, providing a clear indication that failure to honour the opt-out requests could lead to significant penalties (companies face penalties of up to $15,000 per violation under the law).  

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August 5, 2008 8 comments Columns

CRTC Says iOptOut Requests “Valid and Should be Honoured”

Appeared in the Toronto Star on August 4, 2008 as Get Online Help to Override Do-Not-Call Exemptions The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission's announcement last week that the national do-not-call registry (DNC) will be operational by September 30th generated a collective sigh of relief from Canadians tired of unwanted telemarketing […]

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August 4, 2008 Comments are Disabled Columns Archive

CRTC Confirms Do-Not-Call Registry By September 30th

The CRTC has today confirmed that the national do-not-call registry will launch by September 30th.  Given the number of exempt organizations – registered charities, political parties, polling companies, newspapers, businesses with a prior business relationship – Canadians will still need to individually opt-out of hundreds of additional organizations for the […]

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July 30, 2008 12 comments News

Nymity Interview on iOptOut.ca

I recently conducted an interview with Nymity about the iOptOut.ca site.

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May 15, 2008 Comments are Disabled News