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| Compiled by GayToday
Washington, D.C.--NationalGayLobby.Org (NGL) president Jayce Fortwangler says
that unless an agreement is reached with America Online (AOL)
concerning the internet service provider's Terms of Service (TOS) and
censorship policies and enforcement procedures by November 15, his
organization will call for a worldwide boycott of AOL and certain of
its banner advertisers beginning at noon on Monday, November 16. Banner
advertisers are businesses who support AOL financially through
advertising banners which appear on the internet provider's web pages.
In making his announcement, Fortwangler also said that the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has expressed agreement that serious issues exist regarding AOL and has offered its involvement in efforts to head off a boycott of the world's largest internet service provider by gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender internet users and their families and friends. "From the beginning, we have said that NGL does not want to have to initiate a boycott of AOL," said Fortwangler. "We have been clear that NGL would much rather sit down with the company and find a solution to this situation which addresses our community's concerns, while enabling AOL to institute and enforce what policies it chooses. We believe that GLAAD has the expertise and experience necessary to achieve those goals to the satisfaction of all reasonable parties."
News reports of the pending boycott began to appear online and in mainstream and gay community publications throughout the U.S. and Europe beginning on October 21. On October 25, demonstrators organized by the local organization Equal Benefits, burned AOL disks on the steps of the San Francisco City Hall in an expression of support for the pending boycott. Equal Benefits organized the successful national boycott of United Airlines which ultimately compelled the air carrier to abide by San Francisco's domestic partner regulations. On October 27, NGL published a clarification of its position regarding AOL at its Web Site. That statement contained the following: "...all of those involved in the effort to make AOL more accountable are in agreement that regardless of what AOL's Terms of Service policies may be, the TOS must be enforced, equally, evenly, and without exception. This is NGL's only issue with AOL....NGL [has no] desire or interest in telling AOL what its policies should be. We are determined, though, that whatever AOL's TOS policies are, they will be applied across the board and that mechanisms must be implemented through which AOL members and the community can monitor AOL's performance in this area. The situation at present is unacceptable. "We are also aware that NGL can never hope to force AOL to do anything. What we can do, is be a very public and fairly costly thorn in its corporate toe. If AOL wants to permanently devote some of its PR budget to damage control in response to the efforts of NGL and others, that's it's decision to make. If AOL wants to deal with stockholder questions and press conferences at its next annual meeting, that's fine too. If AOL executives want drag queens and street hustlers demonstrating in front of their nice suburban homes in Fairfax and Prince William Counties in Virginia, that can be arranged with a few phone calls. We're in this for the long haul." The following day, October 28, NGL received an email message from GLAAD's Director of Online Community Development William Doherty, in which Doherty said he would like to initiate "a dialog about the AOL situation." As a result of an ensuing conversation between Doherty and NGL Executive Director Michael Romanello, that NGL decided to set a tentative launch date for a boycott of AOL and empower GLAAD to initiate discussions to bring this matter to a mutually agreeable conclusion in advance of such an event. "We hope that now that GLAAD has volunteered to join us in our efforts to educate AOL about problems which may exist in its TOS enforcement mechanisms, this entire matter can be resolved without the need for a boycott or visits to the homes of AOL executives by disgruntled gays and lesbians," said Romanello. "As before, NGL will be happy to meet with AOL representatives at any time. Our only requirements are that participation in such a meeting be limited to AOL, and representatives of organizations, including GLAAD, which have publicly indicated concern regarding AOL's policies and their implementation. We also feel strongly that such a meeting should take place at a mutually agreeable location in Arlington County, Virginia, but not at an AOL facility." During an October 29 telephone conversation with Romanello, Doherty said GLAAD would immediately convene a meeting of the organizations involved to formulate specific requests for presentation to AOL. Doherty said he thought a meeting with America Online executives could take place by November 9. |
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