The Electronic Commerce Protection Act (ECPA) was introduced on April 24, 2009, as Bill C-27. The main goal of the Bill is to cut down on dangerous and junk e-mail and spyware thereby increasing consumer confidence in online commerce.   Bill C- 27 has passed second reading in the House of Commons and has been referred to the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology for review. The bill would prohibit sending a commercial e-mail without prior consent, such consent being limited to an existing business relationship defined as having had a transaction in the last eighteen months or a request for quotation in the last 6 months.  An e-mail requesting consent would not be permitted. E-mails must contain an unsubscribe function. Unsubscribe requests must be dealt with in 10 days. There are also prohibitions against "phishing" (sending an e-mail impersonating a legitimate business and directing the recipient to respond to a counterfeit website) and “spyware” placing a computer program on another computer.  There is some concern that many accepted commercial internet practices of legitimate businesses would be captured by Bill C-27 prohibitions. Industry comments were due by August 15, 2009.  Several industry groups are presenting to  the committee.