Who does CASL apply to?

CASL applies to any commercial electronic message sent to or accessed from a computer system located in Canada. This means if a Canadian resident receives your email-regardless of where you're located-CASL applies. A US company with no Canadian operations but Canadian subscribers on their list must comply with CASL for those subscribers.

The law covers commercial electronic messages (CEMs): messages that encourage participation in commercial activity, whether directly selling products or promoting brand awareness that could lead to transactions. Even if the message doesn't explicitly sell something, if it could reasonably be interpreted as encouraging commercial activity, CASL likely applies.

Certain messages are exempt: purely transactional messages (order confirmations, account notifications), messages to existing employees about employment matters, messages sent in response to inquiries or requests, and messages between individuals with personal relationships. However, the exemptions are narrow-most commercial email to Canadian addresses requires CASL compliance. If you email Canadians commercially and cannot prove consent, you're likely violating CASL. Geographic segmentation or global compliance are your options.