Comments:

Re: CAN-SPAM Act Rulemaking, Project No. R411008 To the Commissioners, I appreciate your efforts to curb the massive problem of unsolicited bulk email. Yet, I am very concerned about the proposed requirement for merchants to maintain suppression lists. There are so many problems and cripling costs associated with this idea, and so much damage done to consumers and businesses alike, that I feel I must most strongly urge you to consider this matter most carefully. Requirement of the use of suppression lists will most certainly seriously damage many of the legitimate publications available on the net. My specific concern is for the harm that will be done 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, yet this requirement will very likely have that very 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. I was quite surprised at the potential problems this ruling could involve, and strongly urge you to reconsider its implementation in light of these problems, Respectfully, Larry Thomas California, USA