Nonprofit Or Not: Michigan Attorney General Targets Remove.OrgNonprofit Or Not: Michigan Attorney General Targets Remove.Org

Michigan attorney general Mike Cox this week issued a warning to Remove.org that the nonprofit--which contacts marketers to take consumers' names off their lists--cease what Cox described as deceptive practices. Most notably, that includes promising consumers that a $10 annual membership fee will result in the elimination of spam.

Charles David, Remove.org's marketing coordinator, says he's confused by Cox's warning because it followed a lengthy phone call during which Remove.org officials thought they'd addressed his concerns.

The trouble started, David says, when Cox caught a report on MSNBC that erroneously reported Remove.org wasn't a valid nonprofit, a story that has since been retracted and is now the subject of litigation being pursued by Remove.org. David maintains that Remove.org filed for tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, and that it expects to receive notification that its filing has been approved. Remove.org, which launched last October, is allowed to operate without that notification for no more than 15 months, he says.

David also says Remove.org, which maintains a national do-not-contact list designed to ward off the onslaught of spam, junk mail, and telemarketing calls confronting consumers, doesn't send out spam as has been previously claimed. Rather, the company asks that its direct-marketing membership send messages informing those on their E-mail lists about Remove.org's services should they want to be removed.

Cox has given Remove.org 10 days to address his concerns, or potentially face a lawsuit under Michigan consumer-protection laws that could result in a fine of up to $25,000.