Comments:

I am quite happy about the intentions of CAN-SPAM although I am extremely concern with its impact on legitimate small businesses. It appears that too much power has been placed in the hands of fickle consumers who may opt-in one day to receive email and five days later forget they did when receving it and then file a compliant. This not only hurts the business but also consumers that are receiving value form the opt-in emails. I am also concerned that CAN-SPAM further removes self-regulation fro the marketplace where ethical businesses offerig value to their clients will be peanlized for the lack of care by spammers. Just as with other "crminal" activities, the worse perpetrators will slip through CAN-SPAM yet the legitimate "caring" small business owner will get hurt due to something as harmless as a lack of an online education. Running a business online will become another "consult a lawyer" situation thereby costing "boot-strapped" small businesses more money. What is most difficult for me to understand is that I have been actively onlne since 1997 and never have I been frustrated due to receiving spam. I have never receievd an unsolicited "Viagra" or "Porn" email - seriously. Why? I do not mindlessly resgister for "free offers" nor do I use a "free" yahoo. hotmail, or AOL email account - I use my ISPs supplied email account. To eliminate spam, I absolutely agree with regulating harvesting and other deceptive ploys for gathering email addresses but if a person consciencely opt-in or registers and provides their email address then THEY should be responsible for whatever they receive in return. Lets not continue to take away accountability and responsibility for consumer's actions and ignorance. I believe that we need to spend time buidling up educational systems so tyhat people can approach situations with proper decision-making abilities and NOT try to (as a government) attempt to protect them from their own laziness. It's ironic to think that as new legitslation has been implemented over the past 60 years, the poeple the laws attempt to protect become poorer and poorer yet the rich (who are often the ones the laws go after) get richer and richer. Doesn't that prove there is something wrong with the thinking? Let's not commit another mistake witht he CAN-SPAM and taking it too far. Yes there is a legitimate need for regulating deceptive email practices but "don't throw the baby out with the bath water". Let's have some sense.