Zoom Receives Backlash for AI Privacy Concerns

What's the story?

• Zoom has responded to backlash after its terms of service sparked concerns that the company would use consumer data to train its AI model.
• The company changed its terms of service in March, a change many people have just recently discovered. Zoom responded to concern and backlash by confirming that the company would not use video, audio, or chat content for AI training without consent.
• On Monday, Zoom updated its terms with the phrase:

"Zoom will not use audio, video, or chat customer content to train our artificial intelligence models without your consent." 

• The company pointed to its "transparent consent process," saying that owners and administrators can opt out of using AI, and participants can choose to leave a meeting where AI features are active.

What data can Zoom use?

• Zoom launched a suite of AI-powered features in June, offered as a free trial. One of the new tools lets clients summarize meetings without recording an entire session. Zoom confirmed that if a meeting organizer decides to use the meeting summary feature, participants will be notified that an AI feature is enabled.
• While users can opt out of their data being used for AI training, the terms allow Zoom to use other data, including information about user behavior and location, without additional permission. Zoom calls this "service generated data" and considers it to be their data to use. "Customer content" that is client-generated will not be automatically used for AI training.

Growing concerns

• AI developers use huge data sets of online information to train their programs and applications. Observers have raised concerns about the inclusion of sensitive, personal, and copyrighted material in the datasets.
• In 2020, Democratic lawmakers called for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to look into Zoom's privacy policies, accusing it of misleading customers on the security of its encryption.
• Robert Bateman, a data protection specialist, said:

"The terms appeared to give the service provider a lot of freedom to use data generated by its users for many different purposes."

• Digital rights advocates are worried that Zoom could take data for other purposes and that users may be unable to opt out of AI if a video host allows it. Katharine Trendacosta from the Electronic Frontier Foundation said:

"If the administrator consents and it's your boss at your work who requires you to use Zoom, how is that really consent?"

• The Open Rights Group said:

"While Zoom states that customers will be asked for consent to use their data to train AI models, Zoom's privacy policy is opaque and it is not clear that this is the case."

Are you worried about Zoom's new policies?

—Emma Kansiz 

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