Zoom Class Action Challenges User Info Sharing

Zoom is facing a class action lawsuit challenging its privacy practices, in which a customer alleges that the company shares users’ personal identifying information with third-parties including social media sites.

The Zoom privacy class action lawsuit was filed by Samuel Taylor who says he downloaded, installed and accessed the Zoom app on his iPhone.

Allegedly, he was unaware and did not understand that Zoom would share personal information about him with third-parties such as Facebook. The plaintiff says he believed that Zoom would keep is information safe and argues that, had he known otherwise, he would not have used the app.

Zoom is a cloud-based video communications platform which has experienced increasing traffic amidst the coronavirus outbreak. The platform reportedly lets users hold video meetings, conference calls, webinars, and chats.

According to Taylor, Zoom’s advertisements tout its flexibility, saying that Zoom can provide “video for every need” and that it can be used “anywhere, on any device.”

Additionally, Zoom advertises its commitment to security and maintaining user privacy, says Taylor.

However, this reportedly does not stop the company from disclosing customers’ personal identifying information, including the customer’s city and time zone, devices used to access Zoom, mobile carrier, unique identifiers associated with the device used, and time when Zoom was accessed.

The Zoom privacy violation class action lawsuit says the company then shares this information to parties like Facebook, who combine the Zoom information with other data to create a “unique profile” of users for advertising purposes.

To support that argument that Zoom is sharing information with Facebook, the video chat privacy class action lawsuit notes that on March 26, 2020, Motherboard reported that the iOS version of Zoom was sending user information to Facebook. According to Motherboard, this would occur even if the Zoom user did not have a Facebook account.

The Zoom video conferencing class action lawsuit claims that user profiles created by advertisers have “tremendous economic value.”

Taylor stresses that, because these profiles are so specific to each user, when they fall into the wrong hands they can put users at risk for fraud, phishing, and identity theft.

He also notes that access to these profiles allows advertisers and other parties to “personally and psychologically target Zoom’s customers with great precision.”

These profiles, known as Identifiers for Advertisers (IDFA), facilitate targeted advertising, explains the Zoom video chat class action lawsuit. Though they do not contain the user’s name, they are allegedly not anonymous because they contain so much other information that can be used to identify a user. 

Despite the high stakes of this data sharing, and its potential impact on users, customers like Taylor had no opportunity to opt in or out of the data sharing, he says.

Allegedly, the data sharing was not visible to the user. The plaintiff says that users could not detect the data sharing, nor could they monitor when their information was being shared.

Taylor claims that had he and other customers known that Zoom made a practice of sharing their information, they would not have used the platform or would have changed how they used it.

Allegedly, the users had no reason to suspect that Zoom would share their information, particularly given the company’s advertised commitment to security and privacy.

In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, Zoom has experienced a significant rise in users. As individuals around the world must practice social distancing and quarantine to prevent the spread of COVID-19, they are looking for ways to conduct business and connect with loved ones remotely. This increase in users has also spurred more concern about the platform’s safety, beyond Taylor’s Zoom class action lawsuit.

Taylor’s video chat class action lawsuit is the second one launched against Zoom the last couple of weeks. Like Taylor’s, an earlier Zoom class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court, and takes issue with Zoom’s sharing of user information to Facebook without their customers’ consent. 

Additionally, news sources like Vice and Motherboard are reportedly examining further possible risks associated with the platform.

Have you used Zoom? What is your favorite video chat platform to use during the coronavirus outbreak?

Taylor is represented by Hassan A. Zavareei, Katherine M. Aizpuru, and Annick M. Persinger of Tycko & Zavareei LLP.

The Zoom Personal Identifying Information Class Action Lawsuit is Taylor v. Zoom Video Communications Inc., Case No. 5:20-cv-02170-SVK, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. 

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