Support

September 14, 2016 at 11:58 am

For the MailChimp plugin to be usable for Canadians or anyone wanting to send email to Canadian subscribers, there has to be a way to add an optin checkbox (unchecked but default).

In the following the support thread, the support staff fellow suggests that if double optin is not sufficient, the user should create a new form somewhere on their site to collecting email as opposed to having it in conjunction with the event sign up forms.

https://eventespresso.com/topic/mailchimp-add-on-opt-in/

I don’t know about you guys but someone who is signing & paying for an event on my client’s website is someone I want on my mailing list.
Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation states: “The manner in which you request express consent cannot presume consent on the part of the end-user. Silence or inaction on the part of the end-user also cannot be construed as providing express consent. For example, a pre-checked box cannot be used, as it assumes consent.

Rather, express consent must be obtained through an opt-in mechanism, as opposed to opt-out. The end-user must take a positive action to indicate their consent. For example, this can be done by providing a blank box which a user can check off to indicate consent.”

Now reading that, one would think that the double opt in would be fine in which I believe (don’t quote me as I’m not a CASL expert and could be wrong) would correct but, I would rather ask for permission up front instead of them getting a surprise email after registering.
If I can do that as opposed to the “suprise” method, I could then remove the need for the double optin creating a seemless experience for the customer as well as comply with the law.

This does not only effect people creating email lists in Canada, but for ANYONE who is send email to Canadians. It is so important, and serious enough that it’s a deal breaker for me and my clients using Event Espresso.