Comments:

Re: CAN-SPAM Act Rulemaking, Project No. R411008 To the Commissioners, I support your efforts which are intended to alleviate the problem of unsolicited bulk email. However, I am particularly concerned about the proposed requirement for merchants to maintain suppression lists. The sheer amount of work involved in this endeavor will bureaucratically sink numerous small businesses. Mine would be among them. There are so many problems and costs associated with this idea, and so much damage that would be 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 the consumer 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 have no concern with the intent of this ruling, but its implementation in this manner could have destructive consequences. Please reconsider the approach proposed. Sincerely, Jim Carswell Ontario, Canada