Zoom Video Communication is at the center of a class-action lawsuit they claim should be thrown out. According to Lawstreet, Zoom is meeting the case with much scrutiny and has filed a motion to dismiss on the grounds that the defendant failed to state clearly a claim for which they should be compensated.
The plaintiff has accused Zoom of the following:
1. Unauthorized data sharing with third-party companies like Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn
2. Zoombombing (This is when unauthorized and uninvited users bursts into a Zoom call. In fact, Zoom meeting links have been hacked and posted publicly on the Internet.)
3. Zoom misrepresented their encryption protocols
Zoom has seen unprecedented growth since the onset of the pandemic. With a sudden and swift move to shelter-in-place, many schools and workplaces suddenly found themselves learning and working from home, with the majority relying on Zoom for communication. Because of this, Zoom stated it has “worked tirelessly…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.” In other words, Zoom is doing the best it can under the circumstances.
Zoom went on to state that the plaintiff is simply trying to profit from Zoom’s growth with a nationwide class-action suit that is loosely based and lacking in evidence. Zoom says that the ideas brought forth by the plaintiff are largely based on media stories. In other words, according to Zoom, the plaintiff is motivated by profit and using hearsay as their only evidence.
The legal team for Zoom asserts that the case doesn’t hold up in court because it doesn’t prove they were actually harmed by using Zoom per their allegations of meeting disruptions, shared data, and misrepresenting their encryption processes.
Zoom also argued that according to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, they are barred from liability from Zoombombing because Zoom is an interactive platform. When it comes to the data sharing allegation, Zoom purports that the plaintiff does not disclose their data was shared, again suggesting no harm was done.
Overall, Zoom asserts that the plaintiff’s claims be dismissed based upon the above-stated arguments. The hearing for the motion to dismiss is scheduled for February 2, 2021, before Judge Lucy H. Koh.
