The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada Enters a New International Agreement in a Fight Against Spam and Unsolicited Messages

On June 14, 2016, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) announced it has joined a new international Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement in a fight against unsolicited calls and electronic messages, to further implement its mandate under Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation. The MoU has been enacted as part of the London Action Plan’s efforts to promote international cooperation for targeting unlawful spam activities including unsolicited messages, online fraud and dissemination of viruses. The OPC and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission are among the eleven signatories that have committed to the MoU joint action initiative.

The MoU, signed by London Action Plan members, supports cross-border collaboration between telecommunication regulators and consumer protection authorities around the world. It will provide regulators with a framework for sharing information and intelligence, such as investigative techniques developed by partner agencies, to advance enforcement against perpetrators operating beyond individual countries’ authority. Cross-border collaborations with foreign agencies will allow for a more effective usage of resources and enable authorities to conduct more thorough investigations.

The MoU is one of several international privacy protection initiatives undertaken by the OPC to establish a global privacy framework with foreign counterparts.

Summary by: Anna Troshchynsky