Comments:

Re: CAN-SPAM Act Rulemaking, Project No. R411008 To the Commissioners: I praise the efforts made so far by those of you working to create legislation to stem the systematic rise and continuing problem of unsolicited bulk email. However, I am apprehensive about your proposed requirement for merchants to maintain suppression lists. As a recent new-business owner of internet marketing knowledge to my over 8,000 customers, I find that there are so many problems and costs that will be associated with this idea, that my small business may be destroyed before I get it off the ground, and my investments lost. You know that small business is the backbone of any country, and this legislation has the means and ability to do so much damage to consumers and other small businesses like mine, that I feel the utmost urgency in asking you to consider this matter most carefully. If your intention becomes law, the requirement to use suppression lists will most seriously disable, injure and damage many of the “legitimate” publications that many of us rely on to keep our small businesses afloat on the Internet. As a “user” of knowledge services on the Internet, I do not have time to visit libraries, universities, etc. to glean knowledge to keep my other small businesses afloat. I do ALL of my research on the Internet, and I buy 90% of the knowledge I need using the Internet, be it individuals doing business as internet marketers or businesses like Amazon.com, where I buy all of my books and reading materials. More specifically, I am worried about the publishers that will be hurt by this additional burden of requiring permission from the consumer prior to adding them to any list. It certainly could not be the primary intention that CAN-SPAM was designed to lasso these individuals, but in effect, it will not only lasso them, it will strangle the very people it was not intended to hurt. 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. I can’t tell you how many emails I receive from customers that have unintentionally unsubscribed from a newsletter, a publication, a service that I provide, to “Please” put them back on my list right away because they don’t want to “miss out” on one article that I send. But, what is most disconcerting is that these suppression lists could easily fall into the hands of spammers. How horrible would it be to enact legislation that could lead to more spam instead of less? Please, before passing any bill of this nature, think of the total potential problems this ruling could involve and how many people could be detrimentally affected. I sincerely urge you fervently, as I’m sure thousands of others in my position will, to reconsider its implementation in light of these problems. Thanking you in advance, Gail Knox President, gailknox.com *REDACTED PERSONAL INFORMATION*