NY AG, Zoom reach deal

Video conferencing group Zoom will expand certain privacy and security protections for users as part of an agreement announced Thursday with New York Attorney General Letitia James (D).

As part of an agreement, Zoom said it will implement a data security program and conduct risk assessment reviews to check for software vulnerabilities. The company will also enhance the security of user information by expanding encryption protocols, and will enable default passwords for every meeting to control access.

The company will also take steps to stop sharing user data with Facebook — an issue that has put the company in hot water over the past two months — and will investigate any reported misconduct on its platform, such as attacks around race, religion or sexual orientation. No monetary penalties were involved in the agreement.

Most of the changes agreed to by Zoom as part of the agreement in New York are steps the company already initiated in response to a spike in security and privacy concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our lives have inexorably changed over the past two months, and while Zoom has provided an invaluable service, it unacceptably did so without critical security protections,” James said in a statement. “This agreement puts protections in place so that Zoom users have control over their privacy and security, and so that workplaces, schools, religious institutions, and consumers don’t have to worry while participating in a video call.”

Zoom has seen record numbers of users as individuals move online for everything from work meetings to classes to happy hours during the coronavirus pandemic, increasing from 10 million daily participants in December to 300 million daily participants in April.