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AIM's New Terms Of Service

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the public-knowledge dept.

acaben writes "AOL has posted new terms of service for AIM, that include the right for AOL to use anything and everything you send through AIM in any way they see fit, without informing you. A sample passage: '...by posting Content on an AIM Product, you grant AOL, its parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, assigns, agents and licensees the irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide right to reproduce, display, perform, distribute, adapt and promote this Content in any medium. You waive any right to privacy.'"

6 of 689 comments (clear)

  1. In Plain English by lax-goalie · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "We retain the right to spy on you, profit from any good ideas you have, and tell your wife about your girlfriend."

    I'm just guessing, but I'll bet no one thought to run that last part past their management team...

  2. Re:In response... by mwilliamson · · Score: 5, Insightful
    gaim-encryption.sourceforge.net provides an easy-to-use wrapper for NSS. It's available for both *nix and win32 and works quite well. I like the fact they didn't try to re-implement the crypto, but rather use someone else's proper (and well reviewed) implementation.

    Folks, it is time to start putting your letters in an envelope. You can no longer trust the letter carrier to protect your privacy. Envelopes are cheap...so start using them.

  3. Re:Fine, then by Laivincolmo · · Score: 5, Insightful
    The problem is that while I might be willing to use encryption, some of my friends are not so comfortable with computers and technology. Some of them don't take the time to remove that aim.com window that pops up with the startup of the default AIM client. I somehow doubt that I could convince them to do something as complicating-sounding as encryption. Just my opinion though.

    Help a College Student

  4. Put another way... by mark-t · · Score: 5, Insightful

    How would people feel if their phone company came out with a new terms of service which said that anything which was spoken over a phone on one of their lines becomes the property of the phone company itself and may be reproduced, rebroadcast, that its users forfeit all rights to privacy, etc...?

    --
    File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
  5. Posts - not IM by cgenman · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You encrypt your posts? How will people read them?

    I hate to sound like an AOL sympathizer, but the TOS specifically refers to "posts." Besides IM, AIM also provides message board services (or so I'm told by people who don't use Trillian, Gaim, or Psi).

    Does "posts" refer to regular IM usage? AOL implies not, referring to "message board posts, chat participation, and homepages."

    My reading of this is that AOL retains usage rights to everything you post on their static forums... forums which basically anyone can access. While I would feel better if this were not the case, that is a good bit better than AOL reading the I.M.'s you send to your co-workers.

    It sounds like CYA to me. As if AOL were giving themselves the right to decide to add access to the chat forums online or through AOL's proprietary service. It's the kind of CYA that inspired them to prohibit people from using AIM "while driving, operating hazardous equipment, or engaging in other forms of hazardous activities."

    On the other hand, go ahead and tell everyone on AIM about the TOS, without explaining that it's only posts. Then try to switch everyone over to Jabber. Please. The whole I.M. universe right now is about as convienient as sending E-mails from CompuServe to AOL in 1992.

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    The ______ Agenda
  6. Re:New Terms in A Nutshell by berzerke · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Which is why I've always used strong encryption to IM my friends. If AOL wants to break my 4096-bit RSA key to sell my "lol"s, then they're welcome to...

    Hmmm...wonder how long before any encrypted messages are blocked? After all, it is THEIR servers the messages are going through, so they can filter.