Comments:

Re: CAN-SPAM Act Rulemaking, Project No. R411008 To the Commissioners, The work of the commission is to be applauded. Your efforts to curb the problem of unsolicited bulk email are laudable. However, what concerns me most is that under the the proposed requirement merchants will have to maintain suppression lists. This idea is not a good one for a number of different reasons. 1. The problems and costs associated with implementing this idea 2. The damage done to consumers and businesses alike, I must urge the commission to consider this matter most carefully. As a company that uses the internet almost exclusively for my business I feel that the 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. The CAN-SPAM legislation was not designed to put these legitimate companies out of business. This requirement will very likely have that 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. 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, Dr. Richard C. Weatherby Oregon, USA