Rogers to pay $200K for spam violation

In 2014-15, ‘unsubscribe’ function on unsolicited emails didn’t work correctly

Rogers Media has agreed to pay a $200,000 fine to the CRTC for allegedly sending unsolicited email advertisements.

The fine was levied under antispam legislation which took effect last year.

The CRTC says the apparent violations stretched from July 2014 to July 2015 when consumers found emails came with an “unsubscribe” option that wouldn’t function properly.

Allegations by the regulator also say Rogers Media, a division of Rogers Communications, failed to honour unsubscribe requests from recipients within 10 business days.

It is the fourth fine under the new anti-spam laws this year.

Corporate training company Compu-Finder was the first; it was fined $1.1 million in March.

Since then, Airlines and an online dating website, Plenty Of Fish, have faced smaller fines of $48,000 and $150,000, respectively.

Under the anti-spam law, the first unsolicited email sent by a Canadian company is considered a violation.

Canadians will be able to file lawsuits against businesses for breaking the anti-spam laws once a transition period ends on July 1, 2017, according to a CRTC statement.