INTERESTING TIDBIT
RWA 2015 --NEW YORK, NEW YORK ------JULY 22-25, 2015
The man who most vividly realizes a difficulty is the man most likely to overcome it. ------Joseph Farrell
INTERESTING ARTICLE
The color wheel announcing the top ten best selling genres at AllRomance.com in 2012 didn’t come through in the March newsletter, so here is the list for you.
- M/M Romance
- Erotica/Erotic Romance
- Shifters & Vampires Romance
- Contemporary Romance
- Horror & Paranormal Romance
- Sci/Fi & Fantasy Romance
- Multiple Partners Romance
- BDSM Romance
- Interracial Romance
- Historical Romance
Press Releases
ANTI=SPAM LAW TOOK EFFECT JULY 1
JEFFREY REED
SPECIAL TO LONDONER
Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), which took effect July 1, aims to crack down on unwanted email, identify thieves and phishers. And according to the Better Business Bureau, Canadians better get ready to protect themselves.
Bill C-28 was passed in December 2010, but according to Deborah Brady, President, Better Business Bureau (BBB) serving Western Ontario, “Many small businesses are not aware of it and could unwittingly violate its far-reaching rules.
“BBB encourages all Canadian businesses to prepare for Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) that became effective July 1. The purpose of the legislation is to protect consumers from undesired Commercial Electronic Messages (CEM), especially email, that clog up our busy lives and is often used to defraud. It is similar to DO NOT CALL LIST (DNC) regulations but for electronic messages and more complex,” said Brady.
CASL is perhaps the toughest law of its kind in the world. Under this new law, businesses will no longer be able to send any form of electronic communications - including text messages, email or messaged to social media in-boxes - without consent of the recipient. This includes text, images, sounds and voice messages.
An “unsubscribe” button must now be included in all commercial email. In addition, businesses must keep a record of consent from each individual recipient.
According to the CRTC, an expected flurry of complaints will create a new problem. Manon Bombardier, chief compliance and enforcement officer with CRTC, said she expects hundreds of complaints will reach her office daily.
“We don’t have the capacity to look at them all, it would not be efficient to look at them all, so we need to be strategic,” said Bombardier. “Our objective is to secure compliance in the most efficient way possible and prevent recidivism.”
Bombardier added, if a warning letter can achieve that goal, then that’s what will be selected. But if it’s deemed insufficient to achieve that objective, then CRTC may need to go with a more stringent tool.
A business which violates the new law could potentially face a maximum penalty of $ 1 million for an individual, and $ 10 million for an organization.
CASL also covers alteration of transmission data, and installation of computer programs on another person’s computer.
There are exceptions to the new ruling. For example, a company with an existing client relationship may send electronic messages for up to two years after a business deal has ended.
A spokesperson for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) concurs with the BBB in regards to how the new anti-spam law could sneak up on small business operators.
“I think this is going to be pretty heavy-handed legislation and it’s going to take a lot of time before many small businesses are even aware that they have some obligations under this legislation and the regulations that go along with it,” said CFIB vice-president Corinne Pohlmann.
Full information about Canada’s law on spam and other electronic threats is available at http://fight-spam.gc.ca.
OCTOBER CONFERENCES & WORKSHOPS:
MONTANA WRITERS CONFERENCE
LOCATION: C’MON INN, BOZEMAN, MONTANA
FEE: tbd
DATE: OCT. 3 - 5, 2014
FMI: visit montanarwaconference.wordpress.com or email Kari-Lynn Dell -
karilynndell@gmail.com
LONE STAR CONFERENCE
LOCATION: Hilton Garden Inn Northwest, Houston, Texas
FEE: $130
DATE: Oct. 4, 2014
NOTE:
Happy Fall
JOKE:
What do frogs like to drink on a hot summer day?
ANSWER: Croak-a-cola!
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