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. 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. In addition, I have reservations about the effectiveness and enforceability of the CAN-SPAM Act itself. Even though the Act became law on January 1, 2004, I personally have seen no decrease in the amount of spam that I receive. (My definition of spam is the type of e-mail that contains advertisements for enlarging various parts of the anatomy, low cost prescription drugs, etc.) It is my opinion that many of the "spammers" will simply ignore the Act (as they seem to be doing now) or move their operations offshore. Or both. To make matters worse how can we in the US legislate e-mail that originates in other countries? Further, we can't simply just block e-mails from countries that originate from known spammer havens. That would block legitimate e-mails as well. So the so called "suppression lists" will not stop those that they're meant to stop. It will, however, have a backlash effect on companies that wish to have conduct honest, legitimate businesses using the Internet. I urge you strongly to reconsider your position on these issues. Respectfully, Rick Smith North Royalton, Ohio