Comments:

April 13, 2004 Re: CAN-SPAM Act Rulemaking, Project No. R411008 To the Commissioners, Your efforts to curb the problem of unsolicited bulk email. However, I am concerned about the proposed requirement for merchants to maintain suppression lists. There are many problems and costs associated with this idea, and the damage done to consumers and businesses alike would be disasterous! I must urge you to consider this matter with kid gloves on. Requirement of the useing suppression lists will seriously damage many of the legitimate publications available on the net. My specific concern is harm to publishers and website owners who require permission from the consumer prior to adding them to any list. We are not who CAN-SPAM was designed to put out of business, but this requirement will very likely have that effect. The potential harm is significant for consumers. On top of that, these suppression lists could easily fall into the hands of spammers, leading to more spam instead of less. I am seriously concerned with the potential problems this ruling could involve, and urge you in the strongest possible terms to reconsider its implementation in light of these problems. Sincerely, Arlene Doran Tigard, Oregon