Privacy and the negative option

Apparently the Privacy Commissioner's office is currently investigating a complaint related to the "opt out" policy of one of Canada's largest telecommunications companies. While this is not entirely a new issue, this article - in and of itself - demonstrates that complainants can easily seek publicity for their complaints as the media is very interested in covering privacy issues these days.

Yahoo! News - Privacy commissioner investigating new Rogers 'negative option' complaint:

"TORONTO (CP) - The federal privacy commissioner's office has opened an investigation into a Toronto man's complaint that the Rogers Wireless service contract includes a 'negative option' privacy policy that is illegal.

Communications consultant Michael Krauss complained in September about a fine-print section of the company's service agreement that requires cellphone customers to fill out an online form or contact a customer service representative to prevent Rogers from disseminating information to other Rogers companies for telemarketing.
'I have commenced an investigation under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) that Rogers Wireless is allegedly using negative consent when obtaining customers' permission to collect, use and disclose their personal information,' senior privacy investigator Kasia Krzymien told Krauss in a letter dated last Friday.... "

Do not call legislation on the way

Both the Toronto Star and CTV are carrying stories predicting that long-awaited "no not call" legislation is on the way, sooner rather than later.

CTV.ca | Canadian do-not-call legislation coming: report:

"By the end of next week, Canadian lawmakers could be considering a bill aimed at ending the scourge of unwanted phone calls from telemarketers.

According to a report in The Toronto Star, legislation to create a national do-not-call registry similar to one already launched in the United States is expected to be tabled before the end of next week.

The bill is expected to bar telemarketers from calling anyone on the list, unless they have established a pre-existing relationship. That means someone who's requested information about a specific service can be contacted.

Previous legislation that would have allowed Canadians to register with such a list died with the last federal election call.

Under current Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission regulations, telemarketing agencies must maintain their own registry of people not wishing to be called. Numbers appearing on those lists can't be faxed or phoned for three years....."

And from the Toronto Star:

TheStar.com - National 'do-not-call' registry likely:

"The Liberal government is widely expected to introduce legislation next week that would create a national do-not-call registry, giving Canadian households the option of shielding themselves from unwanted telemarketing calls.

A similar registry was introduced with great fanfare last year in the United States and has already attracted more than 66 million households. Government and industry sources said a bill is likely to be tabled before the House of Commons breaks next week for the holidays, but could be delayed until it sits again in late January.

'I am convinced now that they have every intent of doing it, and doing it very soon,' said John Gustavson, president of the Canadian Marketing Association, which has supported a national registry since 2001. 'We think it's the right way to go, and we think it will be valuable information for marketers and valuable relief for consumers.'...."

As a complete aside, I find it interesting that Canadian marketing organizations, unlike their US counterparts, favour DNC laws and privacy laws.

Article: CRTC puts new rules on hold

The Toronto Star has an article in today's edition about the CRTC suspension of the changes to the Canadian telemarketing regulations:

TheStar.com - CRTC puts new rules on hold:

"Strict rules imposed on telemarketers in May have been put on hold pending the outcome of a regulatory review.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has decided to reconsider its new rules in response to a complaint filed in August by the Canadian Marketing Association.

The association, with 800 members that include major financial institutions, telephone operators and media companies, argued that the high cost of complying with the regulations will put many smaller phone marketers out of business and result in job loss across an industry that employs 270,000...."

CRTC suspends application of new Canadian telemarketing rules

The CRTC has temporarily suspended the application of their recent changes to the Canadian telemarketing rules. The full text of the decision is here and the "blurb" is below:

Telecom Decision CRTC 2004-63

Telemarketing

Telecom Decision:

2004-63 The
Commission approves, with one exception, the Canadian Marketing Association's
(CMA's) application to stay Review of telemarketing rules, Telecom
Decision CRTC 2004-35, 21 May 2004, pending the disposition of the CMA's
application to review and vary that Decision. The stay applies to all
requirements set out in Decision 2004-35 except the requirement that
telecommunications service providers track and report complaint statistics; this
requirement becomes effective 1 January 2005. Reference: 8662-C131-200408543. [.pdf]

Readers interested in Canadian telemarketing law and the regulation of it by the CRTC in particular are encouraged to check out Mathew Englander's site devoted to the topic at http://www.mathew-englander.ca/canada-telemarketing-law.htm