Comments:

Re: CAN-SPAM Act Rulemaking, Project No. R411008 To the Commissioners, While, I applaud your efforts to curb the problem of unsolicited bulk email, 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. People like personal coaches who offer a service and part of that service is e-zines and other material that provide value, will be hurt by this, especially if they cannot have any ads to help defray expenses. 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. While one can maintain opt-in / opt-out list for an e-zine or mailing list, one cannot possibly know whether or not a recipient has opted out of a list by a company that might have an ad in the e-zine. This is a ludicrous expectation. 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, I believe the main problem is bulk mailers, particularly those whose return address is bogus. Those are the people to target, not legitimate people trying to serve others. Respectfully, Your Name Your State and Country