Zoom will pay $85 million to settle 'Zoombombing' lawsuit
Zoombombing is about to cost the popular video conferencing company a large amount of money.
According to a report by Techcrunch, Zoom agreed on Monday to settle a lawsuit against the company for violating users' privacy. The cost of that settlement for Zoom: $85 million.
At the heart of the lawsuit, which was filed in March 2020, is Zoombombing, which is when uninvited users would gain entry into a Zoom meeting and, often, try to interrupt it.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, use of the video conferencing service suddenly exploded. Zoom basically went from being a mostly business-to-business application to becoming a customer-oriented household name overnight.
Prime Day deals you can shop right now
Products available for purchase here through affiliate links are selected by our merchandising team. If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission.iRobot Roomba Essential Vac Q011 Robot Vacuum Cleaner—$159.99(List Price $249.99)
Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ 10.9" 64GB Wi-Fi Tablet—$142.49(List Price $219.99)
Apple AirPods Pro 2nd Gen With MagSafe USB-C Charging Case—$168.99(List Price $249.00)
Fitbit Charge 6 Fitness Tracker With 6-Months Membership—$99.95(List Price $159.95)
Apple Watch Series 9 (GPS, 41mm, Midnight, S/M, Sports Band)—$279.99(List Price $399.00)
However, problems quickly rose due to this sudden burst in popularity. Exploits that previously went unnoticed were being weaponizedby nefarious actors. Malicious users were quickly finding how easy it was to gain access into any Zoom meeting by just finding or figuring out the private URL for a session.
Business calls were interrupted by trolls, online classrooms were spammedwith pornography. The privacy situation became such a big problem that Zoom suspended development of new features and solely focusedon fixing security issues.
Along with Zoombombing, the lawsuit also mentions security issuesrelated to the service's sharing of personal data with third party companies. Zoom was found to be secretly sharing data with platforms such as LinkedInand Facebook last year.
The settlement still requires approval from a U.S. District judge. If approved, Zoom customers may receive a partial refund of 15 percent of their subscription or $25. Other users can also receiveup to $15.
In addition to the monetary settlement, Zoom has also agreed to improve security on their platform and let meeting hosts know when an attendee is using third-party apps.
Zoom previously settled a complaint from the FTC late last year over its privacy and security issues. However, the FTC settlement did notrequire that Zoom compensate its customers or even pay a monetary fine at all.
-
Giant dualAlcaraz, Sinner survive US Open wobblesWhich is Faster for Gaming, Windows 10 or Windows 11?Giant dualGoogle Gemini now allows AISupercritical geothermal power: Limitless promise or impossible dream?微视频广东:在推进中国式现代化建设中走在前列What Ever Happened to Winamp?Tesla issues recall for 9,100 Model X carsWho is the Dark Wizard in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' Season 2?
- ·Update your BIOS: Utilities from Top Motherboard Makers
- ·Essential Apps to Install on your Windows PC or Mac
- ·Abrar Ahmed returns as Pakistan names squad for second Test against Bangladesh
- ·Upgrade Your Monitor, Not Your GPU
- ·采购商+48,英德红茶在泉城济南蹭蹭涨粉
- ·Trump trials: Jack Smith is reportedly reconsidering his strategy.
- ·Which is Faster for Gaming, Windows 10 or Windows 11?
- ·Foreign, multicultural students rise amid declining school population
- ·We Asked GPT Some Tech Questions, Can You Tell Which Answers Are Human?
- ·Our galaxy might crash into Andromeda. What would happen to Earth?
- ·Top 10 Tech Pranks
- ·The local version of Project 2025 is already causing devastation.
- ·Spaceship tech slashes energy usage of existing AC systems
- ·Cyrix: Gone But Not Forgotten
- ·Elon Musk's AI facility is reportedly operating gas turbines without a permit
- ·Pressure boost squeezes out more hydrogen from artificial leaves
- ·24 Museums Dedicated to Black History
- ·Pragmocracy Now
- ·PS5 Pro: It looks like a sketch of the design just leaked
- ·Carbon neutrality law violates basic rights: Constitutional Court
- ·Prime exclusive deal: $50 off Govee floor lamp
- ·Microwave technique recovers 87% of batteries' lithium in 15 minutes
- ·Apple Intelligence is now a little easier to get outside the U.S.
- ·采购商+48,英德红茶在泉城济南蹭蹭涨粉
- ·Pope says England are not 'one
- ·Webb telescope discovers 6 rogue worlds. They didn't form the way you'd expect.
- ·Malan retires from international cricket
- ·A global problem is preventing the wars in Ukraine and Gaza from coming to an end.
- ·Malan retires from international cricket
- ·Why Kamala Harris triggers Donald Trump so intensely.
- ·Table tennis star Shin Yu
- ·When will Trump and Harris debate? The presidential campaigns snipe over ABC News’ rules.
- ·Yoon approves labor minister's appointment
- ·提前谋划部署准备秋季开学
- ·Spate of defections show Kim Jong
- ·NASA's new plan keeps Starliner astronauts in space until 2025