What is CASL?
CASL is Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation. It covers "commercial electronic messages": emails, texts, and messages on apps like WhatsApp that promote a business. In general, a business needs the person's consent before sending one, and every message must identify the sender and offer a way to unsubscribe.
Messages between friends and family
CASL does not apply its consent rules to a message sent by one person to another person they have a personal or family relationship with. The regulations describe a personal relationship as two people who have had direct, voluntary, two-way communication, where it is reasonable to conclude they know each other personally.
So when your patient texts their sister "I just had my drip at this place, here's $25 off your first one", that is a person messaging family. It is not the clinic sending spam.
The referral exemption
The Electronic Commerce Protection Regulations (section 4) exempt the first commercial message a business sends to someone following a referral from a person who has a relationship with both sides. To rely on it, the message has to disclose the full name of the person who made the referral and state that it is being sent because of that referral. It covers one message, not an ongoing campaign.
Where clinics get it wrong
- Collecting friends' numbers and texting them from the clinic. That is the clinic sending the message, and it needs either the exemption done correctly or consent.
- Following up again and again. The referral exemption covers the first message only.
- Adding referred friends to a marketing list. That needs their own consent.
How Clinvite handles it
- The invite goes from the patient's own phone, in their name, to someone they know. The clinic sends nothing to the friend.
- The friend decides to claim the offer and gives their number with a consent checkbox. Only then can the clinic contact them.
- Consent is recorded with a timestamp so you can show it later.
This page explains the rules in plain language. It is not legal advice. Read the law on the Justice Laws website (S.C. 2010, c. 23 and SOR/2013-221) or ask a lawyer about your situation.
A referral program built around CASL
Invites leave from your patient's own phone. Friends opt in before you can contact them. Every consent is logged.
Common questions
Does CASL apply to text messages?
Yes. CASL covers commercial electronic messages, which include emails, texts and messages on apps like WhatsApp.
Can my clinic text a friend a patient referred?
Only within the rules. The referral exemption covers one first message from the clinic, and it must name the person who referred them and say it is sent because of that referral. After that, the clinic needs the friend's consent. The simplest route is to let the patient send the invite themselves.
Is a patient texting a friend about my clinic spam?
No. A message one person sends to a friend or family member falls outside CASL's consent rules.
What is the CASL referral exemption?
Section 4 of the Electronic Commerce Protection Regulations. It exempts the first commercial message a business sends after a referral from someone who has a relationship with both the business and the recipient, if the message names the referrer and says it follows their referral.