A preliminary settlement filed on Saturday afternoon
requires approval by US District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California.
Subscribers in the proposed class action would be eligible
for 15 percent refunds on their core subscriptions or $25, whichever is larger,
while others could receive up to $15.
Zoom agreed to security measures including alerting users
when meeting hosts or other participants use third-party apps in meetings, and
to provide specialised training to employees on privacy and data handling.
The San Jose-based company denied wrongdoing in agreeing to
settle.
In a statement on Sunday, Zoom said: "The privacy and
security of our users are top priorities for Zoom, and we take seriously the
trust our users place in us."
Saturday's settlement came after Koh on March 11 let the
plaintiffs pursue some contract-based claims.
Though Zoom collected about $1.3 billion in Zoom Meetings
subscriptions from class members, the plaintiffs' lawyers called the $85
million settlement reasonable given the litigation risks. They intend to seek
up to $21.25 million for legal fees.
Zoombombing is where outsiders hijack Zoom meetings and
display pornography, use racist language or post other disturbing content.
Koh said Zoom was "mostly" immune for Zoombombing
under Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act, which shields
online platforms from liability over user content.
Zoom's customer base has grown sixfold since the COVID-19
pandemic forced more people to work from home.
The company had 497,000 customers with more than 10
employees in April 2021, up from 81,900 in January 2020. It has said user
growth could slow or decline as more people get vaccines and return to work or
school in-person.
The case is In re: Zoom Video Communications Inc Privacy Litigation, US District Court, Northern District of California, No. 20-02155.
0 comments:
Post a Comment