Comments:

Re: CAN-SPAM Act Rulemaking, Project No. R411008 To the Commissioners: I appreciate your efforts to deal with the problem of unsolicited bulk email. However, I am extremely concerned about the proposed requirement for web marketers to maintain suppression lists. There are so many issues, problems and expenses associated with this idea, and so much damage done to subscribers and honest, legitimate businesses, that I feel I must urge you to re-consider this matter very carefully. Requirement of the use of suppression lists will seriously damage many of the legitimate communications and newsletters available on the net. My specific concern is for harm to small publishers like myself who require permission from the consumer prior to adding them to any email list. Such legitimate publishers are not those who CAN-SPAM was designed to put out of business, but this requirement will very likely have the same effect. As for myself, I will simply not have the resources or time to monitor such a list, and my only option will be to cease my newsletter publication and online support for my book customers. Not only do I lose out, but my subscribers and book customers do also. So much for the freedom of publication. There's also the potential for significant harm to subscribers and customers, because of the problem of properly knowing their intent when they unsubscribe from an email list. Subscribing, unsubscribing and then resubscribing to newsletters is a common practice, and accurate reporting would be next to impossible. On top of that, I cannot understand how these suppression lists will curb the flow of junk email from spurious spammers who will simply move their operation abroad, effectively beyond the reach of this law. It's not possible to thoroughly regulate the Internet. I was shocked at the potential problems this ruling could unleash, and I don't wish to lose my business and inconvenience my valued customers. I urge you in the strongest possible terms to reconsider its implementation in light of these problems, Respectfully, Donald R. Bell Ontario, Canada