[Krsqk]

There's nothing to stop me from, say, going through the "G" section of the phone book and calling every number to promote my business. Telemarketers just use a more refined Version of this. You can already make your number unlisted. You can have the phone company change your number and make it unlisted. You already can order companies not to call you again, and you can take them to court if they do. Not to mention the dozens of fun ways to "out-annoy" telemarketers, such as hanging up if no one answers in the first two seconds, or answering the phone in Spanish/French/German during prime call-time (and changing Languages on them), or interrupting them and blathering on about your kidney problems... All of these are effective (they will likely get your number removed); they are free; and they don't involve government in something which private citizens are perfectly capable of doing on their own.

[edit] Another note: If I tell a telemarketer not to call me back, I also tell them that I make it a point never to purchase something over the phone. This increases the odds of their actually removing my name from their list; and if enough people do so, it will be reflected in statistical evaluations on the effectiveness of telemarketing. This is both a short-term (affecting me immediately) and a long-term (affecting the industry of telemarketing) solution.

[ July 11, 2003, 00:13: Message edited by: Krsqk ]