Zoom says it won’t use customer data for AI without consent

     Zoom, the popular videoconferencing app, has recently updated its terms of service to include a new section that grants the company a license to use customer content and data for various purposes, including machine learning and artificial intelligence. This has sparked privacy concerns among some users, who fear that their data could be used to train AI models without their knowledge or permission.

What are the new terms of service?

     According to Section 10.4 of Zoom’s terms of service, updated in March and effective from July 27, users agree to “grant Zoom a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable, and transferable license” for various purposes, such as:

• “machine learning, artificial intelligence, training, testing, improvement of the Services, Software, or Zoom’s other products, services, and software, or any combination thereof.”
• “creating aggregated or anonymized data or information derived from Customer Content or Customer Data.”
• “enforcing this Agreement and protecting the rights and safety of Zoom and its customers.”

    The terms of service also state that Zoom may share customer content and data with third parties for these purposes.

How does Zoom use AI?

    Zoom uses AI for several features that aim to enhance the user experience and provide more functionality. For example:

• Zoom IQ Meeting Summary: This feature provides automated meeting summaries that include key points, action items, transcripts, and recordings.
• Smart Gallery: This feature creates individual video feeds for each participant in a meeting room using one camera.
• Live Transcription: This feature provides real-time captions for speakers in different languages.
• Automated Scanning: This feature detects spam activity by scanning webinar invitations and other content.

How does Zoom address privacy concerns?

    In response to the backlash from some users and media outlets, Zoom issued a blog post on Monday clarifying its position on data privacy and AI. The blog post emphasized that:

• Zoom customers decide whether to enable generative AI features, such as Zoom IQ Meeting Summary, and separately whether to share customer content with Zoom for product improvement purposes.
• Zoom will not use audio, video, or chat customer content to train its AI models without consent.
• Meeting administrators can opt out of sharing meeting summaries data with Zoom. Non-administrator meeting members are notified about Zoom’s data-sharing policies and are given the option to accept or leave meetings.

     Zoom also stated that it is committed to protecting customer privacy and security and that it follows industry best practices and complies with applicable laws and regulations.

What are the implications of Zoom’s terms of service?

     Zoom’s terms of service raise some important questions about data privacy and AI ethics. Some of these questions are:

• How transparent and clear are Zoom’s terms of service? Do users understand what they are agreeing to when they use the app?
• How informed and meaningful is user consent? Do users have enough control over their data and how it is used?
• How secure and private is user data? How does Zoom protect user data from unauthorized access or misuse?
• How fair and accountable is Zoom’s AI? How does Zoom ensure that its AI models do not produce biased or harmful outcomes?

     These questions are not unique to Zoom. They reflect the broader challenges and opportunities of using AI in society. As AI becomes more pervasive and powerful, it is essential that users, developers, regulators, and policymakers work together to ensure that AI is used in a responsible and ethical manner.