Zoom Settles Lawsuit: Users to Receive Up to $25 for Security Breaches and Data Shared Without Their Permission

By B.N. Frank

You may not have heard yet of the saying “Data is the new oil”. It seems to apply to how Zoom and countless other businesses (see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) profit handsomely from collecting and selling users’ data often without their knowledge or consent. This is also sometimes referred to as “Surveillance Capitalism”. In regard to the Zoom lawsuit, the settlement amount is “about 6% of the total revenue Zoom generated while sharing users’ data.” Think the company learned its lesson?

From CBS News:

Zoom to pay $85 million to settle “Zoombombing” lawsuit

Zoom Video Communications has agreed to pay $85 million to settle a lawsuit over customer privacy and security breaches linked to thousands of “Zoombombing” incidents nationwide.

The class-action suit, filed last year in California, also accused Zoom of sharing users’ data with Facebook, Google and LinkedIn without users’ permission. The complaint blamed the technology company for incidents on its platform, claiming that lax security failed to stop the attacks.

Zoombombing happens when a hacker or an uninvited guest crashes a videoconference and posts pornographic or hate images or otherwise to disrupt the meeting. Most of the incidents mentioned in the suit took place last year as the nation switched from in-person work rituals to video meetings. Zoom executives acknowledged the issue last year and said they have since changed their security practices.

Zoom Video Communications has agreed to pay $85 million to settle a lawsuit over customer privacy and security breaches linked to thousands of “Zoombombing” incidents nationwide.

Lawyers representing Zoom users filed a proposed settlement on Saturday that would offer a 15% refund on their paid Zoom account, or $25, whichever would be greater. Customers without a paid account would be eligible for a $15 payment, according to court documents.

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