Comments:

I hope that the FTC will seek specific input from legitimate small business owners before devising regulations that may create unintended negative consequenses for small business owners. We are a small business offering educational and training opportunities to women business owners. We have and in-house mailing list of approximately 1000 names and we use email to keep those on our list informed of training opportunities, as well as key business events in our community. Email communication is an economical way for us to notify both clients and potential clients of important news and upcoming events. There are hundreds of thousands of small business owners like us, that depend on email to communicate with their markets. It is our hope that new regulations will not "throw out the baby with the bath water." Please make a distinction in the rules between companies that simply send emails to any email address they can concoct or buy, versus reputable companies that add names to their in-house lists through networking and obtaining permission to "be on the list." I am fearful that new legislation could inadvertently leave respectable small companies vulnerable to unnecessary lawsuits or prohibit reasonable and worthwhile marketing efforts. It seems that having an "opt-out" option in all emails gives the consumer a means to prevent further mail from being received. I am not an expert on the technology factors that will be critical to this legislation. but surely there is a way to distinguish between "spammers" and those who promote pornography and legitimate small business owners. Please seek the input of credible, respectable small business owners before imposing further regulations. Thank you, *REDACTED PERSONAL INFORMATION*