Comments:

Re: CAN-SPAM Act Rulemaking, Project No. R411008 To the Commissioners, As a small business owner and entrepreneur, I greatly applaud your efforts to curb the problem of unsolicited bulk email. However, I am greatly concerned about the proposed requirement for us merchants (we are mostly small businesses with 1-2 employees) to maintain suppression lists. There are so many problems and costs associated with this idea. And there is so much damage done to consumers and businesses alike, that I feel strongly 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 and businesses available on the net. My specific concern is for harm to merchants and publishers, who require permission from the consumer prior to adding them to any list. Those legitimate merchants/business people (like myself) are NOT who CAN-SPAM was designed to put out of business, BUT THIS REQUIREMENT WILL VERY LIKELY HAVE THAT EFFECT. Additionally, there is also the potential for significant harm to consumers, because of the problem of properly knowing their intent when they unsubscribe from a list. Most importantly though, these suppression lists could easily fall into the hands of spammers, leading to more spam instead of less. When examing this matter in the most careful way, it is not surprising the potential problems this ruling could involve. I urge you in the strongest possible terms to reconsider its implementation in light of these problems. Respectfully, Mrs. Harrison Virginia, USA