AOL adds new ingredients to spam

AOL has revised its US terms of service to include instant messages and chat postings as potential spam, reflecting the changing nature of internet communications.

Until now AOL considered spam to just consist of unsolicited bulk email, but now it is including instant messaging and chat-room postings under that umbrella. This allows AOL to cancel memberships or prosecute members or perpetrators who send bulk messages through means other than email.

The new terms read: "You may not use AOL's communication tools, such as email, instant messaging and chat services to send unsolicited bulk communications, including through email or instant messages."

The new terms of service (TOS) agreement, AOL's first revision in five years, is mostly superficial rather substantive. AOL made no major policy overhauls to the text, mainly adding language to reflect the times.

The new TOS will affect only US members and will go into effect on 3 August.

AOL spokesman Andrew Weinstein: "Most of the changes here are cosmetic and housekeeping ones, not changes to policy itself."

The TOS is a guideline of what's acceptable and what's prohibited on the site. It also serves as a legal framework for the limit of rights that AOL members have in exchange for using the service. It also includes community guidelines and AOL's privacy policy, both of which were unchanged.

Jim Hu writes for News.com