Comments:

Re: CAN-SPAM Act Rulemaking, Project No. R411008 To the Commissioners, I applaud 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 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. Additionally, regarding the friend-to-friend forwarding section, I don't think there is really anyway to regulate those e-mails. First, the company may not have actually been the one to ask someone to forward their email. That line may have been added by one of the recipients before he/she forwarded it to his/her mailing list. Furthermore, even if the company did enter the line to ask someone to forward their e-mail then they get a request to have that line removed or the e-mail stopped, it's out of that company's hands. That e-mail could have reached thousands of people who keep on forwarding it, by their own choice, without realizing they shouldn't be forwarding it anymore. There are many websites set up to verify whether or not an e-mail forward request is or is not valid (i.e. truthorfiction.com). I think the only way to handle these forwards is to advertise on those sites whether or not the forward requests are valid. Finally, 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. Respectfully, Angela Warner Salt Lake City, Utah USA