Porter Airlines has been fined for violating the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC) anti-spam legislation.
From 1 July 2014 to 23 February 2015, inclusively, Porter Airlines is alleged by the CTC to have sent certain commercial electronic messages to email addresses for which it did not have proof of consent for each electronic address.
Further, some messages sent during the above-noted time period did not provide complete contact information as required under the Act and the Regulations (CRTC). Other messages sent within the above-noted time period contained either no unsubscribe mechanism or one that was not set out "clearly and prominently". In particular, some messages contained two unsubscribe links, one of which did not function properly. Therefore, the unsubscribe mechanism was not clearly set out because it was not apparent which mechanism was functional.
Lastly, there was at least one confirmed instance where an unsubscribe request was not given effect within 10 business days, and commercial electronic messages continued to be sent between 11 February 2015 and 16 April 2015, contrary to the legislation. Once made aware of the investigation by the CRTC, Porter Airlines took corrective measures, such as updating its mailing list, to comply with the Act.