Comments:

Re: CAN-SPAM Act Rulemaking, Project No. R411008 To the Commissioners, I am very appreciative of your attempts to reign-in the problem of unsolicited bulk email. However, I have serious concerns about the proposed requirement for merchants to maintain suppression lists. There are myriads of problems and costs that would result from the implementation of this idea, as well as the fact that immeasurable damage would be done to consumers and businesses alike. Thus I am respectfully urging you to consider this matter with extreme care. By requiring the use of suppression lists serious damage will be done to many of the legitimate publications available on the net. Of particular concern is the harm that would be done to publishers who require permission from the consumer prior to adding them to any list. These are not the persons whom CAN-SPAM was designed to put out of business. But if suppression lists are required this will very likely be the result. Furthermore we must also take into consideration the potential for significant harm to consumers. This is due to the fact that it is difficult to discern their intent when they unsubscribe from a list. Not only that, but there is the very real possibility that these suppression lists could easily fall into the hands of spammers, leading to more spam instead of less, thus defeating the very purpose of the Act. I am very alarmed at the potential problems this ruling could create, and am urging you in the strongest possible terms to reconsider its implementation in light of these problems, Respectfully, Steve Boutelle *REDACTED PERSONAL INFORMATION*