Comments:

Re: CAN-SPAM Act Rulemaking, Project No. R411008 To the Commissioners, I applaud your efforts to curb the problem of unsolicited bulk email. However, I am concerned about the proposed requirement for publishers of email newsletters and merchants to maintain suppression lists. There are so many problems and costs associated with this idea, and so much damage done to consumers and businesses alike, that I feel I must urge you to consider this matter most carefully. 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. They're not who CAN-SPAM was designed to put out of business, but 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 am also concerned with organizations like ours that rely on commissions earned through affiliate marketing with other companies and advertising agencies. (i.e., Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, etc.) If an individual requests to be removed from the email list of the parent company, how could every affiliate be informed and remove the party from their own email list? Also, if one of my subscribers wants to unsubscribe, does that mean that I must inform my parent affiliate company so they can also remove their email address from their list? If someone has entered their email address in a National Do Not Email Registry, but they requested my email newsletter, what do I do? What if someone subscribes for someone else who is on the list? I believe the biggest problem is not companies who managed opt-in permission based emailing lists, but the domestic and foreign organizations that make money sending bulk spam mail for commercial concerns. Wouldn't it be easier to force Bill Gates to eliminate the email and spyware security holes in the Windows OS and Outlook Express and create an email permisssion system that would automatically delete all emails that do not have permission from the user? This type of end user email security system would eventually discourage all spam mail and the problem would automatically end. Respectfully, David Buchanan Project Lifeline Indiana, USA