Zoom Video is facing a lawsuit for sharing user information with Facebook and other companies which can use the data for advertisements. Zoom Video communications have seen an unprecedented increase in usage as the coronavirus outbreak restricted movement of workers.
Most of the companies are operating remotely, and thus the conferences and events are now being done over video conferencing. And Zoom has emerged as one of the most used media. However, with the increased popularity, the company has also faced some backlash as some of the people have questioned its security policies.
Zoom Faces Lawsuit for Sharing User Information without seeking consent
A top New York prosecutor has sued the company for its unethical sharing of user information to Facebook. The Top Prosecutor has questioned the company over its customer privacy and security practices. In another lawsuit in California the company is sued for sharing customer data with Facebook and some other companies without seeking user permission or informing them.
Lawsuit Questions Zoom’s User Data Security practices
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As per the lawsuit filed this week, Zoom shared information with Facebook whenever the user logged in to Zoom for making a conference call. Users’ personal information was shared with Facebook, including location, Device they log in from, and its unique advertising identifier.
User Device Information Shared
The lawsuit stated,
“The unique advertising identifier allows companies to target the user with advertisements. This information is sent to Facebook by Zoom regardless of whether the user has an account with Facebook.”
Zoom Responded to the Lawsuit
Zoom acknowledged the same, and CEO Eric Yuan took to a blog post to address the issue. The blog read,
Our customers’ privacy is incredibly important to us. Therefore we decided to remove the Facebook SDK in our [Apple-based] client and have reconfigured the feature so that users will still be able to log in with Facebook via their browser.”
Attorney Sent Letter to Zoom Office
New York Attorney General, Letitia James has asked Zoom to provide specifics about how the company will safeguard users’ data. In a letter sent to Zoom, the state’s attorney general said her office is “concerned that Zoom’s existing security practices might not be sufficient to adapt to the recent and sudden surge in both the volume and sensitivity of data being passed through its network.”
Seeking Whether Company Tweaked its Security Practices
The letter also read,
” While Zoom has remediated specific reported security vulnerabilities, we would like to understand whether Zoom has undertaken a broader review of its security practices.”