By Noah Rothstein
Zoom Video Communications has agreed to pay $85 million and enhance its security practices to settle a lawsuit that claimed the company violated users’ privacy rights by sharing personal data with Google, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
On Saturday, July 31, a preliminary settlement filed still requires approval by U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California.
According to CNBC, subscribers in the proposed class action would be eligible for 15% refunds on their core subscriptions or $25, whichever is more apt, while others could receive up to $15.
Zoom agreed to security safeguards, including alerting users when meeting hosts or other participants use third-party apps in meetings and providing specialized training to employees on privacy and data handling.
The San Jose-based company denied any wrongdoing in agreeing to settle.
In a statement on Sunday, August 1, 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.”
Although Zoom collected about $1.3 billion in meetings subscriptions from class members, the plaintiffs’ lawyers called the $85 million settlement reasonable given litigation risks. Zoom intends to seek up to $21.25 million for legal fees.
As a result of people being forced to work from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Zoom has grown sixfold. In January 2020, the platform only had about 82,000 customers. As of April 2021, the company had 497,000.
