Comment Number: OL-103455
Received: 4/15/2004 11:45:48 AM
Organization: Kosoma Publishing
Commenter: Doug West
State: OK
Agency: Federal Trade Commission
Rule: CAN-SPAM ANPR
Docket ID: [3084-AA96]
No Attachments

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 merchants to maintain suppression lists. We currently give our subscribers every opportunity to un-subscribe to our lists, and ALL of our lists are ONLY built by ones subscribing to them in the first place. So if they want off, all they have to do is click the remove link included in each mailing. 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 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, I think what most of us would like to get rid of is all the garbage Porno that no one asks for. However, the way this act is laid out now, the porno promoters probably won't be caught or affected, and legitimate companies like ours will be the ones who suffer loss. The act as it could very well put MANY folks out of business! Respectfully, Doug West Kosoma Publishin