RUMOR MILL
Wednesday, June 14, 2000
YOU’VE GOT SCRUTINY
AOL’s Instant Messaging Draws The Attention Of FTC
Federal antitrust enforcers are examining AOL's dominance of popular instant-messaging services as part of their review of AOL's $113 billion buyout of Time Warner, lawyers and industry executives told The Wall Street Journal.
Federal Trade Commission investigators have asked for documents and scheduled depositions with AOL and its competitors in instant messaging, as one of several issues under review in the deal.
AOL has more than 150 million chatting accounts and, by some estimates, controls 90% of the instant-messaging market.
Because of AOL's wide lead, instant messaging has become one of the Net's most high-profile battlegrounds. The conflict is fueled by AOL's long-standing efforts to prevent competitors, including Microsoft, from connecting their networks with AOL's services.
