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The platform many have come to rely on to get their work done from home during the coronavirus outbreak claims it can’t be held liable for the sometimes high-profile transgressions happening during the virtual meetings it hosts.
Zoom has filed a motion to dismiss several class action lawsuits filed this year claiming privacy invasions and harm.
The motion to dismiss asks Judge Lucy Koh to throw out charges of Zoom privacy violations, arguing the class action lawsuits are baseless and misdirected.
This year’s proliferation of online remote gatherings brought with it nefarious actors and internet pranksters exposing unsuspecting participants to sometimes offensive material.
One instance of these so-called “Zoombombings” happened during a Zoom meeting held by the University of California, Santa Barbara. Participants were shown violent images of child pornography. Associate dean Victor Rios filed a class action lawsuit over the matter.
The continuing offenses had the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and attorneys general from 27 states issuing warnings Zoom privacy could be hijacked in this way.
Zoom says while reprehensible, the crime was made by a third-party and digital communication laws protect them from being responsible.
Citing the Communications Decency Act’s Section 230, the motion says Zoom is shielded from any actions committed by its users.
“Numerous courts have held … platforms may not be held liable for failing to block unwanted users from accessing the site and undertaking malicious actions,” Zoom said in its motion.
In another class action lawsuit, Saint Paulus Lutheran Church says it was holding a virtual bible study using Zoom when hackers threw in pornographic images into their session. Users’ keyboards were disabled and the plaintiffs reported not being able to exit the program.
A different class action was filed around the same time by fitness instructor Stacey Simins, who began using Zoom to hold pole-dancing classes. She says “unwanted men” were found to be snooping in on the sessions, scaring her clients from attending. Simins took action against Zoom in part because she was paying for a premium version of the service.
Plaintiffs in those cases argue Zoom privacy isn’t made secure enough by the company, but Zoom says its encryption argument doesn’t apply because it wasn’t something Zoom ever pledged to offer.
“Plaintiffs’ use of Zoom thus concededly has nothing to do with reliance on encryption- or security-related representations,” according to the motion.
Another class action lawsuit Zoom is defending itself against in court claims the company mines and shares personal information without users’ consent.
Lead plaintiff Robert Cullen, in yet another class action lawsuit against Zoom, makes similar claims, pointing out the company was sending alerts of him being in a virtual meeting to his Facebook page.
Zoom asserts this is false in its motion to dismiss and says its revenue is based on subscriptions and does not sell this sensitive information.
Zoom says the plaintiffs fail to establish how these hacks caused any of their personal information to be exposed.
The motion adds Zoom privacy is something the company takes seriously and says the company strives to improve the platform in a transparent manner.
“Zoom has worked tirelessly since the pandemic’s onset to keep its services operational and secure, while developing and deploying extensive privacy and security enhancements to address new challenges caused by the massive uptick in non-corporate usage,” according to the motion.
Do you think class action lawsuits against Zoom privacy should be dismissed? Let us know why or why not in the comments below.
The plaintiffs are represented by Ahdoot & Wolfson, Cotchett Pitre, Gibbs Law Group LLP, Gustafson Gluek, Outride Safier, Hartley LLP, Loevy & Loevy, Lowey Dannenberg, Morgan & Morgan, along with others.
The Zoom Privacy Class Action Lawsuits are In re: Zoom Video Communications Inc. Privacy Litigation, Case No. 5:20-cv-02155-LHK, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division.
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39 thoughts onJudge Considers Motion to Dismiss Zoom Privacy Class Action Lawsuits
I’m being charged for zoom. This is not right.
If this case gets dismissed then more companies will be off the hook ! Correct ? What can we do about this . Zoom is just one entity in a myriad if Webcam meeting sites.
please add me
They may be dismissing the case Read the article .add you to what? Exactly
add me please
Please add me
Please add me, I was on a meeting and was hearing a man talk when neither of any of my clients had any men around, we were all creeped out
Please add me to this class action lawsuit.
My 10 year old account through school has been hacked. Please add me