Slashdot Mirror
AOL: We're Not Spying on AIM Users
The Llama King writes "America Online tells the Houston Chronicle's TechBlog that, despite a recent Slashdot posting to the contrary, AOL Instant Messenger's terms of service do not imply that the company has the right to use private IM communications, and the section quoted in the Slashdot article applies only to posts in public forums -- a common provision in most online publishers' terms of service. AOL spokesman Andrew Weinstein says flatly: 'AOL does not read person-to-person communications.' He also says AIM communiques are never stored on AOL's hard drives. The original Slashdot item was linked throughout the blogosphere -- it will be interesting to see if AOL can extinguish this fire." (Read more below.)
It could be that they don't actually take advantage of its terms, but the Terms of Service seem to broadly favor AIM's right to do exactly what they say they're not doing; rather than drawing any distinction between IM services and public forum posts, the actual terms seem clearly to apply to all AIM products. Here's how they put it:
For purposes of these Terms of Service, the term "AIM Products" shall mean AIM software (whether preinstalled, on a medium or offered by download), AIM services, AIM websites (including, without limitation, AIM.COM and AIMTODAY.COM) and all other software, features, tools, web sites and services provided by or through AIM from America Online, Inc. and its business divisions (e.g., Netscape) (collectively "AOL") and AOL's third-party vendors.AOL could probably erase many of the worries about conversation snooping if they would provide a definition of the words "post" and "submit" as used in the following paragraph of their ToS (which says it applies to "any AIM Product"), and explicitly disclaimed an "irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide right to reproduce, display, perform, distribute, adapt and promote" the contents of online conversations:
You may only post Content that you created or which the owner of the Content has given you. You may not post or distribute Content that is illegal or that violates these Terms of Service. By posting or submitting Content on any AIM Product, you represent and warrant that (i) you own all the rights to this Content or are authorized to use and distribute this Content on the AIM Product and (ii) this Content does not and will not infringe any copyright or any other third-party right nor violate any applicable law or regulation.
It's okay for the US to have WMDs. But if you want to have them we reserve the right to invade you....We're no evil. We promise. Trust us. Just because we say we can doesn't mean we will.
-Sorry about the politics you just reminded me of the Bush admin.-
Now onto the topic at hand....
I never really liked AIM, and this was the final straw, uninstalled it and went to different services. Do you know what this is like?
This is like tapping phones
If I may make an analogy for a second here because I see a parallel between normal communication and internet communitcation. When you send an email it's like sending a letter. If you post of a public message board, you are in essence entering a public discussion. And when you talk over IM it's not really to different from talking on the phone.
Now can you imagine if the phone companies came out with a statement saying they reserve the right to monitor your phone conversations and use them as they see fit? There would be a public outcry. If say to AIM, make the agreement more understandable and less shadey then I'll consider coming back to you.
Please don't try to take a cheap jab at a company just for the sake of it being a company.
Why not? It's a pretty good metric of how sleazy an entity is (is it a corporation? check). Is there something special about a company? Even priests bugger little boys, and they're holy men no less. I don't see why an inc. gets the automatic benefit of the doubt. And there certainly are countless examples of of why corporations should get the reverse.
you've probably been leeching off AOL's servers for years without a second thought (you don't use the official AIM client with the revenue generating ads, do you?)
I certainly wouldn't have bought anything. I might even have taken note, and went out of my way to *not* buy anything featured in such an ad. Marketing is evil, it's no longer about informing me that a product I might already have wanted actually exists, it's about trying to manipulate me at some fundamental psychological level. I'm not allowed to use a service they provide for free, unless I submit to brainwashing? No thank you, Mr. Troll.
ON NOES! That one guy TheHawke who calls our company "aoHell" has stopped using his reverse-engineered unofficial AIM client! THE SKY IS FALLING! Quick, redesign AIM to make TheHawke happy!
Do you really think AOL gives a crap? Hell, I'm not a big company and I don't really give a crap...
Comment of the year