Comments:

To the Commissioners, Thanks for trying to cut down on unsolicited bulk email (SPAM) (I hate getting offers for Viagra, C_H_E_A_P_-_D_R_U_GZ, and h0+ KR@2Y S&XX_X as much as the next person), but Suppression Lists are NOT the way to do it. First off, this ruling could virtually kill small businesses using the internet to market their products, especially those in rural locations, like the one I work for. There is a limited amount of foot traffic through our small hamlet, so our gift shop relies heavily on web sales from our own website, and other sites that carry our merchandise, procured directly from us, or through second and third parties. For smaller businesses, we can't rely on volume sales, we MUST rely on repeat sales, and the only way to do that ios through excellent customer service. We ALREADY remove folks from our own opt-in mailing lists at their first request. Maintaining lists of removed customers, identifying all the other websites that carry any of our products, sharing our lists with them, getting their lists from them etc. etc. is costly and time consuming, and adds a great deal more financial and man-hour burdens on already financially strapped small businesses (not to mention the costs of the added regulatory structure that we will have to pay for in higher taxes) . Keep in mind - small business don't generate so much revenue on their own, but there are so many of us that we are the backbone of the world economy. Secondly, you're writing rules for folks who are adept at breaking them, hackers, spammers, virus and worm developers, etc. They will not follow your rules, and they may even use them against you by hacking your suppression lists and using the email addresses to send MORE spam. Our business got wormed a couple of months ago and stole all of the email addresses it could, not only to send us more spam (C_H_E_A_P_-_D_R_U_GZ, h0+ KR@2Y S&XX_X) but to send out spam to others using false originating addresses (our own). And did you know it's often unsafe to reply and remove yourself from these spammer's lists, because that just verifies for them that your email address is the valid address of a real person - Your address gets the spammer's seal of approval as a quality address and it gets shared around to other spammers. Virtually the only listss folks can safely ask to be removed from are subscription lists they actually signed up for in the first place, anything else declares open season on you for the spammers - you're on the sucker list. Spammers and hackers are not legitimate business people, and they are not very scrupulous, (the word nefarious comes to mind) but they are very good at breaking rules - better than you are at writing them. You can't possibly write write a law that scofflaws will obey. You can very easily write laws that woill have adverse affects on others. CAN-SPAM will stop very few spammers, but it is very likely have the effect of putting many ethical small businesses out of business. Reconsider it. Respectfully, Peter Suddeth California, USA