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Teleconferencing company Zoom is drawing scrutiny as a result of its coronavirus-fueled business boom. Internet-rights advocates say they want Zoom, which has been overwhelmed with demand in the wake of the viral outbreak, to start publishing a transparency report detailing its data security practices, including how it responds to governments seeking to crack down on …
Teleconferencing company Zoom is drawing scrutiny as a result of its coronavirus-fueled business boom.
Internet-rights advocates say they want Zoom, which has been overwhelmed with demand in the wake of the viral outbreak, to start publishing a transparency report detailing its data security practices, including how it responds to governments seeking to crack down on freedom of speech.
The Silicon Valley startup has a responsibility to be more open about how it handles user data as people around the world are forced to use the service because they are working from home, Access Now officials argued in a letter dated Wednesday.
“The growing demand for your services makes Zoom a target for third parties, from law enforcement to malicious hackers, seeking personal data and sensitive information,” wrote Access Now’s US policy analyst Isedua Oribhabor and general counsel Peter Micek. “Meanwhile, as people gather online, these assemblies will draw scrutiny from authorities looking to control the flow of information.”
Zoom’s stock price surged 12.7 percent from Feb. 20 through Wednesday — compared to a 28.3 percent drop in the Nasdaq composite — as demand surged for its teleconferencing services. Analysts have reported that Zoom has added more users so far this year than in all of last year, according to Access Now’s letter.
Some 70 companies such as Google and Microsoft publish transparency reports, which inform users about their safeguards against government abuses, according to Access Now. The group wants Zoom to disclose the number of requests for user data it receives from governments, the circumstances in which it provides user information to authorities, and how it tells users when their data is sought by a government or exposed in a breach, among other policies and practices.
“Regular reporting is one of the strongest ways for technology companies to disclose threats to user privacy and free expression,” Oribhabor and Micek wrote.
Zoom said it is in the process of reviewing Access Now’s letter, which it received Wednesday afternoon.
“We take user privacy extremely seriously, and appreciate them reaching out on this very important topic,” a Zoom spokesperson said in a statement.
