AT&T TOS to Become Less Evil

Earlier this month, we ran a story about AT&T’s Terms of Service. Specifically, we said the language should “horrify the consumer public” because it essentially stated that if you talked bad about AT&T, AT&T could terminate your contract. Even to those of us who are not lawyers and/or barely read, the language was harsh (you can judge it for yourself here).

Our readers were upset. AT&T wrote us quickly after the story hit, attempting to clarify their position and do general damage control. They explained that the TOS was a result of their corporate mergers and that they “do not terminate customer service solely because a customer speaks negatively about AT&T.” Still, the statement didn’t mean much because the TOS still gave them the right, and even implied the intent to limit customer freedom of speech.

Now AT&T has written us again, informing us that the TOS will change:

We are revising the terms of service to clarify our intent. The language in question will be revised to reflect AT&T’s respect for our customers’ right to express opinions and concerns over any matter they wish. And we will make clear that we do not terminate service because a customer expresses their opinion about AT&T.

We’ll have the specific language for you shortly, and until then we’ll hold off any final temptation to make final conclusions. But for now it appears that AT&T has taken heed to your collective disgust. And that much is good.