Comments:

Re: CAN-SPAM Act Rulemaking, Project No. R411008 To the Commissioners, I am grateful for your efforts to curb the problem of unsolicited bulk email. However, I am concerned about the proposed requirement for merchants to maintain suppression lists. It would appear new problems and costs associated with this idea would bring damages to consumers and businesses alike, that I feel I must urge you to consider this matter most carefully. The requirement to use suppression lists could seriously damage many of the legitimate publications available on the net. Specifically my concern is for harm to the publishers who require permission from the consumer PRIOR to adding them to any list. I realize these are NOT the targetted "merchants" that CAN-SPAM was designed to put out of business, yet this requirement would very likely have that effect. There's also the potential for significant harm to the consumers, because of the problem of properly identifying their intent when they unsubscribe from a list. And what if, on top of that, these suppression lists fall into the hands of spammers? These "merchants" have already proven themselves as ones who defy and disregard any existing guidelines, laws, or respect for the consumer. Isn't a suppression list just one more list leading to more spam instead of less. Although the potential problems of this ruling may seem surprising and totally contrary to the intention, I urge you in the strongest possible terms to reconsider its implementation in light of these problems, Respectfully, Renate Hachkowski Coaldale, Alberta CANADA