News

Microsoft not only firm banning IM access to U.S. enemy nations

But it's unclear how effective the measures will be at preventing access

By Eric Lai

May 29, 2009 07:55 AM ET

Computerworld - Besides Microsoft Corp., Google Inc. and possibly AOL LLC have also cut access to their instant messaging services to citizens of countries deemed hostile to the United States. But it's unclear how effective those measures will be at preventing access.

Microsoft confirmed late last week that it had stopped offering its Windows Live Messenger service to users in Cuba, Syria, Iran, Sudan and North Korea.

All five countries are subject to trade embargoes overseen by the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), a division of the Department of the Treasury.

A Google spokesperson also confirmed that it bans the download of both Google Talk, its instant messaging app, and Google Earth, its satellite mapping software, to Sudan, due to "U.S. export controls and economic sanctions regulations."

An AOL spokesperson, meanwhile, said in a statement that the company "takes its responsibilities under the sanctions programs administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control seriously and has implemented policies and procedures designed to ensure compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. For various reasons, AOL does not disclose the details of its internal compliance program."

Yahoo! Inc. did not return a request for comment about the access issues.

The moves likely hurt not only local residents of those countries, but also overseas friends and relatives who rely on the IM and video chat provided by these services to stay in touch.

Windows Live Messenger appears to be the most popular instant messaging service worldwide, with 300 million users as of March 2008, according to Microsoft.

According to June 2008 data compiled by Canadian mobile instant messaging provider, EQO Communications Inc., Windows Live Messenger had the largest market share in 14 of the 21 largest countries worldwide, including the UK, France, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Mexico, and Turkey.

Messenger is the second-most popular IM service in China, Germany and Saudi Arabia, according to EQO. However, it is only third in the United States, behind AOL Instant Messenger and Yahoo!.

Microsoft declined to comment to the IDG News Service on whether it had been contacted by OFAC or had voluntarily implemented the ban.

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