Zoom achieved a settlement for a class-action lawsuit, confirming that it has improperly shared user information with third parties. The communication platform will pay a fine in the region of $85 million and must update its privacy practices.
As Zoom’s popularity soared, indications that users’ privacy is compromised became more prevalent. Leaked photos and Zoombombing (uninvited guests joining meetings) were two of the most obvious data leaks.
More subtle transgressions were the unauthorized disclosure of users’ information with third parties through SDKs and marketplace apps. The most glaring instance was revealed by Motherboard: the Zoom iOS app was sending analytical data to Facebook, even if the Zoom users had no Facebook account.
On top of that, the company had explained its end-to-end encryption in a misleading way, but this issue was addressed in October 2020.
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The settlement dedicates that Zoom will update its privacy policies and pay $85 million in total.
People who’ve used the platform between March 30, 2016 and July 30, 2021 can file a claim and get a reimbursement. Zoom paid subscribers can receive $25, while free users are entitled to $15.
Personal data is a commodity of growing value. People search services build their entire business on collecting and structuring publicly available data, while other data brokers deal with personal info in illicit ways.
Cybercriminals have already scored some big hits, which makes the profit-driven betrayal of trust by large companies even more egregious.
If you are among the numerous affected Zoom users and want to keep your personal information for yourself, you can try deleting yourself from the internet or let professionals do that for you.
Unaware that life beyond the internet exists, Nick is poking servers and control panels, playing with WordPress add-ons, and helping people get the hosting that suits them.
