America Online yesterday announced that it will stop accepting
third-party pop-up ads on its internet service, following
complaints from customers who find them an "annoying interference"
with their on-line experience.
AOL spokespeople told the media that the company will honour any
existing contracts to deliver pop-ups but such contracts will not
be renewed. AOL will also continue to "utilise a variety of
mechanisms including pop-ups to notify members about key features
on the service, and on a limited basis, to make special offers from
AOL Time Warner."
The company expected to make a $30 million profit from pop-ups
in 2003.
AOL 8.0, the latest version of its flagship service which was
released yesterday, contains some new features, including one that
allows parents to get a "report card" of their kids' on-line
activities, and another that lets users choose to view only e-mails
from people they know.
