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| The video-conferencing firm has long been criticized for its approach to its security. (Photo by= Getty Images) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] Video-conferencing firm Zoom has agreed to pay $86m (£61.9m) to settle a class-action privacy lawsuit in the US. BBC reported that the lawsuit alleged that Zoom had invaded the privacy of millions of users by sharing personal data with Facebook, Google and LinkedIn.
It also accused Zoom of misstating that it offers end-to-end encryption and for failing to prevent hackers from "zoombombing" sessions. The class-action lawsuit, filed in March 2020 in the US District Court in the Northern District of California, is just one of several legal complaints facing the US-based video-conferencing platform. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Zoom Meetings paid subscribers nationwide, as well as free users. According to the plaintiff's lawyers, US Zoom subscribers generated $1.3bn in revenues for the video-conferencing firm.
The firm denied any wrongdoing but has agreed to boost its security practices. The preliminary settlement, which also includes a provision that Zoom will give its staff specialized training in data handling and privacy, is still subject to approval by US District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California. A Zoom spokesman said: "The privacy and security of our users are top priorities for Zoom, and we take seriously the trust our users place in us. Meanwhile, the video-conferencing firm has long been criticized for its approach to its security.
