Video conferencing company Zoom Video Communications has agreed to an $85 million settlement following a class action lawsuit.
The tech company became a staple in American and global households during the pandemic. While the software helped connect students, workers, and families, users claim that the company violated user privacy rights after it collected user data and then shared it with third-party sites including Facebook, Google, and LinkedIn. Plaintiffs in the suit also detail that Zoom marketed to users that their software offered end-to-end encryption when in actuality, it did not.
The suit further claims that lax security measures allowed hackers to gain access to meetings in a practice dubbed “Zoom bombing.” Zoom bombing ranged from innocent infiltrations done by pranksters to more extreme and inappropriate interruptions. At times, hackers were able to join meetings that had sensitive information shared. Other hackers would join in on public events and cause disruptions for those participating. In extreme scenarios, hackers would infiltrate a zoom meeting, take over hosting duties, and share pornographic images, threats, and racial insensitivity statements or images.
The case consists of 14 class action lawsuits which were eventually consolidated into one. The complaints were brought against the company between March and May 2022. In one of the complaints, a plaintiff representing a Bible study class in a San Francisco church detailed hackers joining a meeting and displaying images of child pornography to class participants.
As part of the lawsuit, the company has agreed to refund eligible plaintiffs 15% of their core subscription to the video conferencing software, or $25, whichever is larger. Other qualifying applicants may be refunded $15. Members of the class action forked over roughly $1.3 billion for the use of the services. However, lawyers stand by the $85 million settlement, calling it reasonable as a result of the litigation risks. It’s anticipated that plaintiff lawyers are expected to collect just over $21 million in legal fees.
Following news of the settlement, the company released a statement explaining in part, "The privacy and security of our users are top priorities for Zoom, and we take seriously the trust our users place in us."
Mark Molumphy, an attorney representing Zoom users, shared, “Millions of Americans continue to use Zoom’s platform with the expectation that their conversations will be kept private and secure.” Molumphy adds, “This groundbreaking settlement will provide a substantial cash recovery to Zoom users and implement privacy practices that, going forward, will help ensure that users are safe and protected.”
The settlement was granted final approval by Judge Laurel Beeler of the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California. In addition to paying back users, Zoom has agreed to change company policies in order to provide a safer, more secure platform. The company will establish a user-support ticket system where users can detail any disruptions or disturbances they encounter. The system will allow Zoom to track the type of disruptions in order to investigate them further. Zoom has also announced they would add a “suspend meeting” feature, as a way to protect meeting participants. Additionally, users will also have the ability to block users from meetings who sign on from different countries.
Despite the settlement, Zoom does not admit any wrongdoing over the claims made against them.
