Zoom reaches $85 million settlement
According to the lawsuit, Zoom accuses millions of users’ privacy by transferring personal information with Facebook, Google, and LinkedIn.
It also charged Zoom with making false claims about end-to-end encryption and failing to prevent hackers from zoo bombing sessions. The company denied any wrongdoing but committed to improving its security measures.
The privacy and security of our users are a significant priority for Zoom, and we take seriously the trust our users have in us, a Zoom spokesman stated. They are proud of the achievements we have made to our platform and look forward to continuing to innovate while keeping privacy and security in mind.
The class-action lawsuit
The class-action lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California is one of several legal complaints against the US-based video-conferencing provider.
The complaint file on behalf of Zoom Meetings paid customers and free users around the country. According to the plaintiff’s attorneys, US Zoom subscribers generated $1.3 billion in income for the video-conferencing company.
If the proposed settlement is accepted, subscribers who are part of the class action will receive 15% refunds on their subscriptions or $25, whichever is greater, while others may receive up to $15.The plaintiffs’ attorneys intend to collect $21.3 million in legal expenses from Zoom as well. In March, the video-conferencing company requested the court to dismiss the motion.
However, Judge Koh only dismissed a portion of the complaint involving invasion of privacy and carelessness; she allowed the plaintiffs to pursue some contract-related claims.
Zoombombing
The video-conferencing company chastised for its security practices. The phenomenon of Zoombombing instances, in which unauthorized individuals disrupt meetings to cause problems, is one significant concern. That has led to certain companies discontinuing the use of the platform.
According to the New York Times, a hacker joined a virtual Chipotle event in April last year amid the coronavirus shutdown and transmitted pornography to hundreds of guests. Zoom has also chastised security issues.
That issues allowed an attacker to remove guests from meetings, spoof user communications, and takeover shared screens. Another case included Mac users coerced into calls without their knowledge.
In addition, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit accused the platform of misrepresenting its encryption protocol transport encryption as end-to-end encryption. That means Zoom can view conference video and audio, rather than only meeting attendees to decrypt messages.
However, the BBC knows that Zoom has been working hard to address security and privacy concerns through app upgrades since April 2020. Including the implementation of end-to-end encryption and more than 100 features relating to privacy, safety, and security.
