By: Megan Apostolides
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Zoom has become a household name and integral part of remote work and communication. By providing a virtual platform for meetings, webinars and social interactions, Zoom adapted to the evolving needs of our society and has managed to maintain its relevance and popularity in the post-pandemic era.
In March 2023, Zoom undertook a significant revision of Section 10 within its online terms of service, intending to provide greater clarify regarding the ownership and utilization of various forms of content. This update required users to grant Zoom a broad license for purposes including machine learning, artificial intelligence, service improvement and more. However, despite the initial aim of transparency, this alteration generated apprehension and confusion within the user community. Concerns arose that Zoom might exploit video, audio, chat, screensharing, and other forms of communication to not only train its own AI models, but also third-party AI models. Notably, the revised language in the March update made a distinction between “service generated data” and “customer content,” with the former being employed for AI model training and the latter representing user-created data.
In August 2023, in response to these user concerns and criticisms, Zoom initiated another round of updates to its terms of service and supplemented these changes with a detailed blog post. The revised Section 10 serves to clarify that Zoom does not employ data from calls to train AI models without explicit consent of users. Furthermore, it underscores that while Zoom may utilize customer content to develop value-added services, users unequivocally retain ownership and control over their content. These modifications strike a balance between user privacy and the platform’s technological advancements— reaffirming Zoom’s commitment to transparency and data protection.
Zoom has recently unveiled two groundbreaking generative AI features, namely Zoom IQ Meeting Summary and Zoom IQ Teams Chat. These innovative additions facilitate automated meeting summaries and chat composition, enhancing the productivity and efficiency of Zoom users. Control over the activation of these AI features lies within Zoom’s account owners and meeting hosts. Participants in these calls are informed upon joining the meeting.
Zoom’s online terms of service, coupled with their comprehensive privacy statement, predominately cater to their online customer base regarding data privacy and usage. These documents serve as instruments for educating users on how Zoom handles their information. More importantly, it is essential to recognize that Zoom maintains distinct contractual agreements for customers who directly purchase their services. Additionally, specific sectors, such as education and healthcare, are subject to regulatory oversight. Changes to Zoom’s online terms of service do not affect consumers in these regulated domains, reaffirming the platform’s commitment to compliance and tailored solutions for its user base.
The recent updates to Zoom’s online terms of service have triggered a growing public concern, not only regarding the potential use of content and data for AI model training without explicit consent, but also encompassing broader data privacy worries. Notably, with the introduction of Zoom IQ Teams Chat and Zoom IQ Meeting Summary, the meeting host or account owner may chose to opt in to the aforementioned AI features. However, this approach lacks an official and comprehensive consent process for participants. Consequently, in situations where one’s supervisor or an organizational administrator opts for these generative AI features, attendees find themselves without a practical means to opt-out, short of leaving the meeting altogether. This dilemma raises a fundamental question: Can genuine consent truly be established when it hinges on the decisions of a superior or workplace authority who has, by default, endorsed Zoom features?
Furthermore, Zoom has established distinct agreements with educational and healthcare institutions, which take precedence over Zoom’s standard online terms of service. However, in today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, Zoom has not extended the same level of protection to legal professionals. This oversight becomes particularly significant when lawyers represent educational institutions, healthcare facilities, their investors, stakeholders, boards, or any individual affiliated with these organizations. Legal practitioners often rely on Zoom to discuss highly confidential and privileged information that extends beyond the direct scope of healthcare or educational services. The absence of tailored provisions for the legal field underscores the growing complexities surrounding data privacy and highlights the potential risks of Zoom inadvertently or intentionally sharing sensitive and private content.
In conclusion, the evolving landscape of data privacy and consent within Zoom’s services reveals the need for a more nuanced and user-centric approach. Addressing concerns related to consent, power dynamics, and the protection of sensitive information, especially when in a professional context, is vital. Zoom must continue to adapt and refine its policies and features to ensure the trust and confidence of its diverse user base while navigating the intricacies of the digital age.
Student Bio: Meg Apostolides is a second-year law student at Suffolk University Law School. She is a staff member for the Journal of High Technology Law. Meg received a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies and Spanish with a concentration in Latin American Politics from the College of the Holy Cross in 2020.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog are the views of the author alone and do not represent the views of JHTL or Suffolk University Law School.
