Zoom Video Communication is facing criticism for purportedly sharing users’ information with companies like Facebook that too without users’ consent. Now the famous online video conferencing platform is facing a judicial proceeding for its act. Reportedly, a Zoom user has filed a lawsuit against the company in federal court of California. The user has accused Zoom for its failure to maintain and secure the personal data of its rapidly increasing user base. As per the lawsuit, the company has disclosed that information without fair notice or authorization to Facebook and probably other third parties. It claims that the act includes the privacy of Zoom users and breaches the Unfair Competition Law, the Consumer Privacy Act, and Consumer Legal Remedies Act of California.
The lawsuit also notes Zoom’s software notified to Facebook every time a Zoom user started a conference call. After the user logged in, Zoom offered the user’s information to Facebook. The shared data also included information regarding which device the person has used to access the conferencing platform along with the model number. It also comprised of the advertising identifier of the device, which is unique for every gadget. The federal case states, the advertising identifier enables companies to aim at users with advertisements. Notably, it claims Zoom of sharing information with Facebook regardless of knowing whether the user has a Facebook account.
On the other hand, Zoom officials have accepted its data-sharing act in blog posts. They have also noted changing the practice. Zoom CEO Eric Yuan said the company officials came to know regarding the data sharing act in the previous week. As per the executive, sharing of the information started after Zoom offered users an option to log in through Facebook SDK (Software Development Kit). The lawsuit also claims Zoom for accepting money to share user information. Meanwhile, the documents does not reveal how much money the video conferencing platform has supposedly gained. Zoom’s chief legal officer Aparna Bawa said in a post that Zoom has at no time shared user data in the past. She added, the company also has no intention to sell users’ information in the future.
