Comments:

Re: CAN-SPAM Act Rulemaking, Project No. R411008 To the Commissioners, I find this a very hard area and appreciate 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 so many problems and costs associated with this idea, and so much damage done to consumers and businesses alike, that I feel I must urge you to consider this matter most carefully. Requirement of the use of suppression lists will seriously damage many of the legitimate publications available on the net. My specific concern is for harm to publishers who require permission from the consumer prior to adding them to any list. They're not who CAN-SPAM was designed to put out of business, but this requirement will very likely have that effect. There's also the potential for significant harm to consumers, because of the problem of properly knowing their intent when they unsubscribe from a list. On top of that, these suppression lists could easily fall into the hands of spammers, leading to more spam instead of less. As to opting out from a companies list and receiving emails from other companies they are affiliated with, I feel the opt out should be linked to those other companies so one is opted out of them all at once. Unless, the subscriber has opted to receive other information unrelated from the opt out subscription. The forwarding an email to a friend should not automatically subscribe the friend to an email. He should be the one to evaluate it and subscribe if he sees it to be of value to him. I was quite surprised at 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, Steve Mosher Nebraska, USA