Zoom settles privacy lawsuit for $85m

Lawsuit alleges Zoom shared personal data with tech giants and did not do enough to prevent hackers infiltrating calls

Zoom has agreed to pay $85m to settle a lawsuit which claims the video communications platform violated the privacy of its users by sharing personal data with Facebook, Google and LinkedIn.

The lawsuit also alleges that Zoom misled users by claiming it offers end-to-end encryption in its video calls and that it failed to prevent hackers from ‘Zoombombing' calls, which sees them enter meetings they were not invited to and includes cases of indecent images being streamed to participants.

The company, which saw its number of users rocket during the pandemic, denies any wrongdoing but has also agreed to bolster its security.

This includes a provision that Zoom will give its staff specialised training in data handling and privacy, as well as introducing alerts when meeting hosts or other participants use third-party apps during a call.

But the preliminary settlement will still require approval from US District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California. If approved, those subscribed to the class action would be eligible for either a 15 per cent refund on their core subscription or $25, whichever is larger, while others could receive up to $15.

In a statement, Zoom said: "The privacy and security of our users are top priorities for Zoom, and we take seriously the trust our users place in us.

"We are proud of the advancements we have made to our platform, and look forward to continuing to innovate with privacy and security at the forefront."

The lawsuit was first filed in March last year and the BBC reports that the plaintiffs' lawyers also intend to seek $21.3m in legal fees from Zoom.