Comments:

Re: CAN-SPAM Act Rulemaking, Project No. R411008 To the Commissioners, I applaud your efforts to curb the problem of unsolicited bulk email, such action is long overdue. 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. CAN-SPAM was clearly not designed to put these people out of business, yet this is the likely 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. As it stands, it would appear that the proposals would penalise legitimate business - in some cases, causing those businesses to fail - while potentially allowing the increase of the spamming problem. In all, the reverse of the intended outcome; and so, as a friend from the UK, I would urge you to reconsider Respectfully, Ivan Eyre West Sussex, UK