| Comment Number: | 522418-02250 |
| Received: | 6/15/2006 3:09:09 AM |
| Organization: | |
| Commenter: | brenda king |
| State: | MS |
| Subject: | Business Opportunity Rule |
| Title: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking |
| CFR Citation: | 16 CFR Part 437 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
I cannot believe what I have read in the supposed Business Opportunity Law. I am 100% for cutting back on fraud online...but this bill is not even geared toward that. After losing my job to Katrina, I worked 16-18 hr days to develop a small membership site. It is operated in the most ethical manner...but could not survive these rules. I can't afford lawyers to interpret the law and do paperwork. It appears that what is wanted by the FTC is to have a vague law that can be applied wherever you choose. The only companies online that could meet these paperwork obligations are the large corporations . Much of the scam sites are coming from outside the US. The market for how to start a business online is filled with naieve Americans who have been spoiled with an easy life and who join a program or buy and ebook and then do nothing to put the information into practice. I have great members in my group, exceedingly pleased, doing well. As with any membership, though, there are many who sign up and quit as soon as they download everything they can get. Why should the actions of this type of consumer have a negative effect on a flourishing small business? In the past few years, our government has looked the other way while huge corporations try to sell off American businesses for a quick buck. When the auto-surf scams were running online, there were laws in place to stop them quickly -- and the laws were not enforced until the scams hit the news. Every time the FTC tries to regulate, decent people get hurt, small businesses get hurt -- and the crooks just keep going. I don't believe the people debating this law understand how online businesses work -- or understand how many regular citizens rely on their small internet business to pay for necessities. It is a hard market and requires hard work. Enacting this broad, sweeping law will have a devastating effect on small online businesses. The result will be that people will be afraid to work online in the US. Thus, the internet small business phenomenon will no longer be dominated by the US. Other entrepreneurs in other countries will fill the gap -- and you have no control over them at all. The spam and phishing emails I get every day proves that. The result of this new regulation will be MORE fraud and MORE scams....and those people don't care what the US law is. There are some serious scams and fraud online and all of us who work hard and ethically would like to see them stopped. The laws are there -- but they are not enforced. The recent Stormpay and 12daily pro fiasco clearly shows that. Many marketers had complained about these ponzis to no avail. There are programs that openly advertise huge amounts of money can be earned with no work - and consumers with dollar signs in their eyes join and join and join. Some of them actually will succeed, though usually not in any get rich quick scheme they join. Write laws that HELP good marketers instead of punitive regulations that only increase paperwork, and are so deliberately vague that they will make people afraid to run an online business. I realize this law was originally aimed at those taking advantage of consumers. It goes too far. It is far too vague. As written, it is an attack that could shut down online businesses in the US. Hope and greed are the reasons consumers join many of the risker programs. Fear of financially devastating legal charges will affect the honest marketers much more than the dishonest one. You should know, too, that many of the scammers are the customers, not the businesses! Copyrights are violated, fraudulent orders received, serial refunders buy everything they see - down load it and immediately demand refunds...and get their money back. If passed, this will effectively end the businesses of many honest online business people. The requirements in this bill are totally unreasonable for many online businesses.