Zoom reaches $85 mln settlement of lawsuit over user privacy, ‘Zoombombing’

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Zoom Video Communications Inc agreed to pay $85 million and bolster its safety practices to settle a lawsuit claiming it violated customers’ privateness rights by sharing private knowledge with Fb, Google and LinkedIn, and letting hackers disrupt Zoom conferences in a observe referred to as Zoombombing.

A preliminary settlement filed on Saturday afternoon requires approval by U.S. District Choose Lucy Koh in San Jose, California.

Subscribers within the proposed class motion can be eligible for 15% refunds on their core subscriptions or $25, whichever is bigger, whereas others might obtain as much as $15.

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Zoom agreed to safety measures together with alerting customers when assembly hosts or different contributors use third-party apps in conferences, and to supply specialised coaching to workers on privateness and knowledge dealing with.

The San Jose-based firm denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle. It didn’t instantly reply on Sunday to a request for remark.

Saturday’s settlement got here after Koh on March 11 let the plaintiffs pursue some contract-based claims.

Although Zoom collected about $1.3 billion in Zoom Conferences subscriptions from class members, the plaintiffs’ attorneys referred to as the $85 million settlement cheap given the litigation dangers. They intend to hunt as much as $21.25 million for authorized charges.

Zoombombing is the place outsiders hijack Zoom conferences and show pornography, use racist language or put up different disturbing content material.

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Koh stated Zoom was “principally” immune for Zoombombing below Part 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act, which shields on-line platforms from legal responsibility over consumer content material.

Zoom’s buyer base has grown sixfold because the COVID-19 pandemic compelled extra individuals to make money working from home.

The corporate had 497,000 clients with greater than 10 workers in April 2021, up from 81,900 in January 2020. It has stated consumer progress might gradual or decline as extra individuals get vaccines and return to work or faculty in-person.

The case is In re: Zoom Video Communications Inc Privateness Litigation, U.S. District Court docket, Northern District of California, No. 20-02155. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Modifying by Andrea Ricci)