Is Zoom Safe?

After schools around the world switched to the platform to conduct their classes, many have argued that the program isn’t safe for individuals to use.

Zoom has seen an increase of its monthly users from 10 million to 200 million since the December of 2019, and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. As countries around the world have implemented “Stay-at-home” orders amid the COVID-19 pandemic, companies, schools, and much of our social life has been centered around Zoom. Friends and family members have been seen conducting yoga workouts, Happy Hour, birthday celebrations, and much more on the platform. As 200 million monthly users use Zoom for their day-to-day, concerns have arisen on whether or not the safety of the individual is at risk.

            As the use of Zoom became widespread, many meetings were being “Zoombombed.” In other words, many meeting and classes conducted on the platform were being interrupted by unknown figures who would blast pornography and racist slurs on their screens or microphones. These actions have severely disrupted class sessions, as many school districts in California and New York reported these kind of occurrences. Berkley High School reported multiple incidences of pornographic images being displayed on a user’s profile, forcing classes to end early. There have also been accusations that Zoom gave user data to Facebook, reminding many of the Cambridge Analytics that discovered the extensive network of shared user data done under Facebook. Many people have already become skeptical of using any online program to conduct private matters. Zoom, which is a Silicon Valley based company, has many ties to China. Business Insider reported that many of Zoom’s vulnerabilities lie in their relationship with the Chinese government. Back in the Fall of 2019, a Tik Tok user had her account suspended after a controversial video regarding China became viral. It sparked concerns that the Chinese-owned company lurked in the shadows of the app, quietly censoring content on the international version. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi even went on to say that Zoom is “…a Chinese entity that we’ve been told not to even trust the security of.”

Despite the security concerns, Zoom has repeatedly released statements saying how they are working around the clock to fix these issues. For instance, in a recent IOS update, they updated their terms of agreement stating that they will not share user data with Facebook anymore. Zoom has also created a private meeting function meant to make the meeting only accessible through a password. Additionally, there is a waiting room function that can be enabled to allow the host to choose who can enter the meeting or not. These layers of security measures help with protecting privacy in these meetings.

Experts say there is no clear sign that the virus will go away anytime soon. Lockdown and stay-at-home orders are becoming the norms of 2020, so the need for safe and accessible online platforms are at an all-time high. Even with Zoom’s added measures, will it be able to stand the test of time later down the road?

Featured Image – A teacher conducting a Zoom meeting for their class Photo Courtesy of AP

by Samuela Ma’u