The pending merger of America Online and Time Warner has rekindled the fight, as AOL s competitors are renewing their charges that the company is hindering standards development. Because of such developments, AOL critics contend, interoperability between rival products is that much more important. Critics have blasted AOL for thwarting progress toward an Instant Messaging and Presence Protocol, which has been in development by the Internet Engineering Task Force for two years. The IETF has set a June 15 deadline for IMPP proposals. The rancor began last year when AOL blocked competing instant messaging applications from connecting to its AOL Instant Messenger software , Microsoft's MSN Messenger , iCast's iCaster , and Tribal Voice's PowWow .
Critics don t see the impending merger making things any easier.
The way AOL is behaving is disastrous for any new company online. Telephone messages requesting an interview with an AOL official for this article were not returned. Throughout the debate, however, AOL officials have been steadfast in arguing that their main intent behind blocking access to rival IM software is to protect their users. Tribal Voice and iCast recently sent about 2000 consumer petitions to the FCC demanding that AOL open its instant messaging services and make its products interoperable with those of other companies. Both firms also submitted briefs to the FCC saying that the agency should ensure that AOL honors its promise to support instant messaging standards and open communication.