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Zoom Resolves ‘Zoombombing’ Legal Dispute
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During the initial stages of the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020, the teleconferencing platform Zoom gained immense popularity among both corporate entities and individuals. It served as a crucial tool for schools conducting classes, businesses hosting meetings, and families staying connected during quarantine. Along with this surge in usage, an unwelcome trend emerged known as “zoombombing,” where unauthorized individuals disrupted Zoom calls with profane outbursts and inappropriate content.
The prevalence of zoombombing raised significant privacy and security concerns among Zoom users. Coupled with apprehensions regarding the alleged sale of user data to tech giants such as Facebook, Google, and LinkedIn, a lawsuit was filed, leading to a settlement agreement under which Zoom Video Communications has agreed to pay $85 million.
Aside from the financial compensation, the company committed to implementing substantial changes in its policies to enhance meeting security, provide clearer privacy disclosures, and protect consumer data, as outlined in the settlement terms.
Among the proposed alterations are the introduction of in-meeting alerts aimed at clarifying who has access to, can store, and can share users’ Zoom information, as well as notifying users when a meeting host or another participant employs third-party applications during a session.
Zoom to pay $85m to address privacy breaches and accusations of zoombombing https://t.co/VDGGFA8HVJ by @campbell_kwan
— ZDNet (@ZDNet) August 2, 2021
Reiterating the company’s commitment to user privacy and security, a spokesperson for Zoom conveyed to CNN Business, “Ensuring the privacy and security of our users remains paramount for Zoom, and we uphold the trust our users bestow upon us. We are pleased with the progress we have made in fortifying our platform and are eager to pursue further innovations with privacy and security as our guiding principles,” the spokesperson emphasized.
Furthermore, core subscribers of Zoom implicated in the lawsuit will qualify for partial refunds on their subscriptions as compensation for the inconvenience.
