French fine AOL

AOL'S ONLINE contracts have attracted the attention of the French Courts which have dubbed them unfair and illegal.

The French Consumers Union magazine Que Choisir sued AOL-France over 38 clauses it alleged were unsustainable under French law and Le Wigged One agreed. Some 21 clauses were abusive and 11 illegal, the court ruled.

One of the clauses that particularly shocked the court was a get-out clause by which AOL declined responsibility for interruptions or errors in service, and another charging dial-up clients a full sixty seconds for every minute started. AOL could break the agreement without warning, while customers had no way of ending the relationship without shelling out cash, the watchdog barked.

The ISP was fined €30,000 ($36,000), ordered to publish the verdict in three mass circulation newspapers in Paris and on AOL's homepage in France, and inform all clients by email within a month.

AOL has told AFP that it would appeal, but it did not tell them on what grounds. µ