On August 11th, Zoom’s new terms of service took effect, including a controversial provision granting the company rights to user assets. This shift sparks worries about privacy, consent, and compliance (e.g., HIPAA, FERPA.). Despite efforts to clarify opt-ins for the AI-assisted features, concerns persist.
Why it matters: Zoom’s dominance on the video calling landscape significantly limits choices for users who are uneasy about the company’s data practices. With a lack of viable alternatives, individuals fall into two camps. Those who are willing to accept their data being harnessed for Zoom’s enhancement and those who do not consent to such a policy and would prefer to opt out are left with limited control.
- Following public outrage, Zoom added the following to their terms of service: “Notwithstanding the above, Zoom will not use audio, video, or chat Customer Content to train our artificial intelligence models without your consent.”
- There’s still ambiguity around decisions for individuals under a company account who want to opt-out, even if their company opts in. What happens if one organization opts in but a cohost joins through another organization that has opted out? How would the data be used, then?
- According to the author, the company has not done a good job of conducting a dialog with the public and responding to user concerns. People are paying much closer attention to how their data is being used in today’s day and age. They can collectively push back against policies that they don’t agree with.
