AIM’s New Terms Of Service
Here’s something I thought you all should be aware of. It’s not like we share national secrets while chatting on AIM, but still something to know…
Via Slashdot
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.’
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Mar 13th, 2005 at 13:06:27
Wonder how the agreement works if you use GAIM?
Mar 13th, 2005 at 13:12:12
Good question… I’m not sure it the TOS refers to the actual client, or the AIM network itself. I would say it’s referring to the network, and therefore does apply to third party clients (GAIM, Trillian, etc) as well as the AIM client.
Mar 13th, 2005 at 19:15:31
Someone from AOL has posted a response to the “rumors” flying around the blogosphere about the new TOS. Read the response here:
http://www.micropersuasion.com/2005/03/aols_tos_change.html#comments
Mar 15th, 2005 at 18:52:08
AOL is changing their TOS in response to the outcry.
Via Slashdot:
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/15/180202&from=rss
gpmac writes “AOL has responded to the recent slashdot attention. America Online Inc. plans to make three small but significant modifications to the terms of service for its AIM instant messaging product to head off a firestorm of privacy-related criticisms. The tweaks to the terms of service will be made in the section titled “Content You Post” and will explicitly exclude user-to-user chat sessions from the privacy rights an AIM user gives up to AOL.”