Surf, Don't Call

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to realize that the new federal "Do Not Call" web site would be flooded with traffic upon its launch. Neverthless, the site was barely accessible for large parts of its first day online Friday, as Americans weary of being bombarded by telemarketing calls during dinner sought to register their phone numbers. By noontime the DoNotCall.gov site was receiving more than 1,000 visits per second, according to media reports. "Even in our worst-case scenario, there is a lot more traffic than we expected and we are adding more servers to alleviate the congestion," said and FTC spokesperson. By day's end, the site had managed to register 735,000 phone numbers, which must be deleted from most telemarketers' databases by Oct. 1.

Consumers feel empowered by the service, and appear likely to support an opt-out program for junk e-mail, according to one survey, which said 83 percent of respondents would like to see a similar Government-sponsored program targeting Spam. The problem is that Spam is largely an underground industry, in which the actual villains are hard to find, much less regulate. ISPs, who are easier to find, should keep on their toes amid the growing legislative interest in Spambusting.