Comments:

4-13-04Re: CAN-SPAM Act Rulemaking, Project No. R411008To the Commissioners:While I applaud your efforts to curb the problem ofunsolicited bulk email, I am concerned aboutthe proposed requirement for legitimate merchants to maintain suppression lists.Keep in mind that you are considering imposing a burden on numerous merchants who conduct business in an ethical fashion, in an attempt to curb the activities of smaller group of unethical spammers. Do you think that those who flout the current laws will heed your proposed regulations?There are so many problems and costs associated with this idea, and so much damage done to consumers and businesses alike.Requirement of the use of suppression lists willseriously 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.A huge number of publishers use opt-in lists or double opt-in lists. Consumers who doubly opted in, but then change their mind, typically need simply to make a single click on their computer screen to opt out.The proposed regulations also present the potential for significant harm toconsumers, because of the problem of properly knowing their intent when they unsubscribe from a list. An additional concern is that these suppression lists could easily fall into the hands of spammers, leading to more spam instead of less.I urge you in the strongest possible terms to reconsider its implementation in lightof these problems,Sincerely,H. MarcouxEnglewood, Colorado