Comments:

Re: CAN-SPAM Act Rulemaking, Project No. R411008 To the Commissioners, I live in the UK and I strongly approve of your efforts to curb the problem of unsolicited bulk e-mail which is a huge problem worldwide. I am very concerned, however, about the proposed requirement for merchants to maintain suppression lists. There are so many problems and costs associated with this proposal, and so much damage done to consumers and businesses alike, that I feel I must urge you to consider this matter most carefully. These problems will affect everyone equally worldwide since the US is still by far the biggest online market. New suppression list requirements would 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. These lists are not purely sent for advertising purposes. I subscribe to a great many such lists myself and find the information indispensable to my business. These business owners are not who CAN-SPAM was designed to put out of business, but this requirement will very likely have that effect. There's great potential for significant harm to consumers, because of the problem of properly knowing their intent when they unsubscribe from a list. Also, these suppression lists could easily fall into the hands of spammers, leading to more spam instead of less. I was very 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, Joe Beaven Worcester, United Kingdom