Yahoo Finance Canadian fined $75K by CRTC for sending spam emails
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on Monday issued a penalty of $75,000 to an individual who allegedly violated Canada’s anti-spam legislation. The commission says that’s the heaviest penalty it has issued to an individual for sending messages without consent.
The CRTC said in a press release that between December 2015 and May 2018, Scott William Brewer allegedly sent over 670,000 emails without people's consent. The spam campaigns focused on affiliate and web marketing, including promoting four online casinos that “would compensate him through their affiliate programs for new customers.”
The commission said during the investigation there was no evidence that Brewer sought consent from people for sending the emails.
“The CRTC’s investigation confirmed that Mr. Brewer sent out a very high volume of emails over a short time span, before anti-spam defenses could respond and block the messages. This is known as a hailstorm spam campaign,” the release said.
Steven Harroun, chief compliance and enforcement officer at the CRTC, said in the release that Brewer’s actions were disruptive to Canadians and “undermine their confidence in electronic commerce.”
“Obtaining consent is a fundamental principle of Canada’s anti-spam legislation,” he said. “The penalty issued today demonstrates that individuals are just as accountable as businesses and must respect this principle."
