Well-known Chinese news site Sina (NASDAQ: SINA) recently reported that popular video conferencing provider Zoom Video Communications will have to pay $85 million to its users as part of the settlement of a class-action lawsuit. The company was accused of lying about offering end-to-end encryption on its services; as well as providing user data to Facebook and Google without permission. This came nine months after Zoom agreed to security improvements and a “prohibition on privacy and security misrepresentations” in a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. However, the FTC settlement didn’t include compensation for users. In addition to payments, Zoom agreed to over a dozen major changes to its practices. Zoom later issued a statement promising, “The privacy and security of our users are top priorities for Zoom.” Back in 2020, it was revealed that Zoom did not offer end-to-end encryption despite claiming to do so. Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic forced more people to work from home, Zoom’s user base has increased fivefold. In April 2021, the company had 497,000 customers with more than 10 employees, compared to only 81,900 in January 2020. Zoom said that, as more people get vaccinated and return to work, its growth may slow down.
Source: Sina, August 2, 2021
https://finance.sina.com.cn/tech/2021-08-02/doc-ikqciyzk8970558.shtml