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. Most web users are frustrated over the ever increasing problem of SPAM here overseas as well as in the US. But they are also concerned as a result of this problem of leaving out personal information, specifically their name and email addresses. As permission based newsletter publisher with a large list of e-mail subscribers I keep and respect my client’s legitimate need for privacy. Specifically their need to keep their e-mail addresses confidential and never spread their email addresses outside to any third party. The proposed need for suppression list that will have to be shared between businesses will violate the legitimate need of newsletters subscribers of their privacy. There is also the concern of publisher and clients alike that such suppression lists will be abused and fall in to the hand of spammers. 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, Respectfully, Per Strandberg Norway