Since the do not call registry started 2 years ago there have only been 6-- count 'em 6 -- federal fines handed out to telemarketers and only 14 lawsuits. More than half of those who have registered still complain of getting unwanted calls, but nothing seems to actually be happening to the offenders. Kind of sounds like our immigration laws.

Wall Street Journal

Two years after the National Do Not Call Registry took effect -- and with more than 100 million numbers enrolled -- dinner-time conversations are still being interrupted by telemarketing calls.

Regulators say the system is working, but a recent random survey (by telephone) by the Customer Care Alliance, a Virginia-based consortium of three customer-relations consultants, found that 51% of registered consumers say they're still getting calls they think the list is supposed to block. Lois Greisman, the Federal Trade Commission official in charge of the registry, says the agency receives a "steady flow" of between 1,000 and 2,000 complaints about telemarketers every day.

Yet to date, there have been remarkably few fines issued by federal regulators. Despite one million reports of violations, the FTC has filed only 14 lawsuits and levied only four fines. The Federal Communications Commission, which jointly administers the program with the FTC, has issued warnings but only two fines, one to AT&T Corp., the company with the contract for administering the program.

There's a lot more information on the states fight to crack down as well at the Wall Street Journal article.

Tipped by: Slashdot