Rival Sees Opportunity to Lure AOL Customers

When America Online has a problem, it’s bad news for the service’s 19 million members. But it’s great news for rival Internet service provider EarthLink Network, which tailors its marketing pitches to appeal to disaffected AOL users.

Last week, AOL gave EarthLink new ammunition by declaring that its customers would begin receiving pop-up ads--widely considered a nuisance--unless they made a special request to opt out of them. Even AOL members who previously told the Dulles, Va.-based company they didn’t want the pop-up ads would have to renew their objections.

The new policy got AOL into trouble with online privacy advocates. A better solution, they say, is to limit the pop-up ads to customers who request them.

So EarthLink seized on the opportunity by creating an “Opt Out of AOL” plan to lure unhappy AOL members. Customers who switch to EarthLink will get one free month of Internet access, a standard come-on in the highly competitive industry. But EarthLink upped the ante by offering to donate $50 to the Electronic Privacy Information Center on behalf of each AOL defector.

Marc Rotenberg, director of the Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group, stressed that EPIC is not endorsing EarthLink in any way but is happy to accept donations from any contributor.

EarthLink spokeswoman Kirsten Kappos said it’s too soon to estimate how much money the company will ultimately send to EPIC.