AOL’s Terms of Service Update for AIM Raises Eyebrows — Of course now they deny that this has anything to do with person to person IM’s. That said, the TOS says it does. It’s the TOS and license people click on. Onerous agreements must be rejected.

America Online, Inc. has quietly updated the terms of service for its AIM instant messaging application, making several changes that is sure to raise the hackles of Internet privacy advocates.

The revamped terms of service, which apply only to users who downloaded the free AIM software on or after Feb. 5, 2004, gives AOL the right to “reproduce, display, perform, distribute, adapt and promote” all content distributed across the chat network by users.

“You waive any right to privacy. You waive any right to inspect or approve uses of the content or to be compensated for any such uses,” according to the AIM terms-of-service.

It also appears as if AOL is going to completely change the IM system it employs.