Zoom settles ‘zoombombing’ and data privacy lawsuit
Zoom Video Communications Inc agreed to pay $85 million and bolster its security practices to settle a lawsuit claiming it violated users’ privacy rights and allowed hackers to disrupt Zoom meetings in a practice called “Zoombombing”.
The lawsuit filed claims that Zoom violated privacy rules by sharing personal data with Facebook, Google and LinkedIn.
The settlement still requires approval by U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, Calif., but if signed off, subscribers would receive 15% refunds on their core subscriptions, or $25, whichever amount is larger. Zoom users who did not pay for an account can submit a claim for $15.
Αccording to the settlement documents, τhe videoconferencing company agreed to security measures, including alerting users when meeting hosts or other participants use third-party apps in meetings, and to provide specialized training to employees on privacy and data handling.
However, they denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle. “The privacy and security of our users are top priorities for Zoom, and we take seriously the trust our users place in us,” the San Jose-based company said in a statement.
Zoom‘s customer base exploded during the pandemic, with many organizations turning to the videoconferencing platform, as a part of work and lifestyle changes to accommodate coronavirus restrictions. But the spike in users also draw more attention on the program’s security and privacy flaws.
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