David, our mole in the mountains of the west, has surfaced long enough to bring to my attention two pieces of very disturbing news about AOL's view on the privacy (or lack thereof) of instant messages: first a warning from Ben at Thrashing Through Cyberspace, and then analysis of AOL's waffling about it from boingboing.
Breaking news! As I was writing this post, he sent me a third article, this also from Cory at boingboing on AOL's scrambling to save face. Apparently, Cory thinks that they've done the right thing and should be commended. Do you all agree? Much as I am quick to villify AOL when given the chance, perhaps this is a moment where unclenching and relaxing is in order….
Comments (1)
*sigh* You know, as much as I hate AOL, I have to say I think this got blown a bit out of proportion. Don't get me wrong - I'm slightly paranoid about my privacy, so when I first heard about this over the weekend I started thinking "encryption". Then I went and read the terms. Further in, there was this:
"AOL does not read your private online communications when you use any of the communication tools offered as AIM Products. If, however, you use these tools to disclose information about yourself publicly (for example, in chat rooms or online message boards made available by AIM), other online users may obtain access to any information you provide.
Your AIM information, including the contents of your online communications, may be accessed and disclosed in response to legal process (for example, a court order, search warrant or subpoena), or in other circumstances in which AOL has a good faith belief that AIM or AOL are being used for unlawful purposes. AOL may also access or disclose your AIM information when necessary to protect the rights or property of AIM or AOL, or in special cases such as a threat to your safety or that of others."
Now, granted, the words "You waive all right to privacy" are pretty damn scary. And they make it pretty clear that they do have grounds in some cases to read what you're writing. And I don't trust AOL further than I can throw their stupid CDs. (Hell, not even that far.) But, honestly? I think this was just one hell of a badly written TOS. That doesn't make it much better, but it does imply incompetence rather than out and out malice, and rewriting the terms is absolutely the right thing to do.
(Also, these "new" terms were originally posted over a year ago, and applied only to those who registered with AIM or downloaded proprietary software/updates after February 5, 2004. The blogosphere was a little slow on the draw.)
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March 15, 2005 9:27 PM
Posted on March 15, 2005 21:27