Zoom Privacy Breach Class Action
Guese v Zoom Video Communications, Inc.
Murphy Battista LLP is co-counsel with Collette Parsons Corrin LLP on a proposed national class action against Zoom Video Communications Inc. (“Zoom”) on behalf of all Canadian residents whose personal information was collected and/or disclosed by Zoom to a third party upon installation or opening of Zoom’s videoconferencing application (the “Zoom App”). It is alleged that the Zoom App was programmed to improperly disclose information about users to Facebook and potentially other third parties.
Users of Zoom may access its videoconferencing service through an app for iOS (Apple’s mobile operating system), android devices, or MacOS (Apple’s desktop and laptop operating system). In the Apple iOS app store, the Zoom App is called “ZOOM Cloud Meetings”.
On Zoom’s website, Zoom states:
You can trust us to connect you to the people that matter. We value that trust more than anything else. We want you to know what data we collect and how we use it to provide our service.
A link is provided to Zoom’s privacy policy. In Zoom’s privacy policy, Zoom purports to identify and disclose to its users all the information that Zoom automatically collects from its users when they use its videoconferencing services. In its privacy policy, Zoom addresses the measures it takes to protect its users’ personal data as follows:
Security of your Personal Data
Zoom is committed to protecting the Personal Data you share with us. We utilize a combination of industry-standard security technologies, procedures, and organizational measures to help protect your Personal Data from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure …
Despite Zoom’s representations and assurances, it included code in the Zoom App that disclosed users’ personal information to Facebook, and potentially other third parties. On March 26, 2020, Joseph Cox posted a report on a web-based news site called Motherboard, operated by Vice Media Group, revealing that the Zoom App contains code that makes unauthorized disclosure of users’ personal information to Facebook, even if the user does not have a Facebook account. This information includes the user’s device model, the time zone and city from which the user is connecting, the user’s phone carrier, and a unique advertiser identifier automatically created by the user’s device which can be used to target the user with advertisements. Click here to see the Motherboard news article.
On March 27, 2020, Zoom posted an entry to the blog on its website, admitting that the Zoom App was sending information to Facebook upon installation of the Zoom App and each time the Zoom App was opened. Zoom admitted that the unauthorized disclosures began when Zoom contracted with Facebook to implement a “Login with Facebook” feature using Facebook’s proprietary “software development kit”.
The proposed class action seeks damages for Canadian residents whose privacy was breached by Zoom through the unauthorized disclosure of their personal information.
Current Status
A consent certification hearing in this matter will take place in Vancouver, British Columbia in April 2023. Check back here for updates.
Who are the lawyers?
This class action is being pursued by a team of lawyers at Murphy Battista LLP, led by Angela Bespflug, Janelle O’Connor, and Caitlin Ohama-Darcus, and a team of lawyers from Collette Parsons Corrin LLP, led by Richard Parsons and Vanessa Vuia.
Who does the class action affect?
The claim is brought on behalf of all Canadian residents who downloaded the Zoom App prior to March 27, 2020 and whose personal information, including device and system attributes, was disclosed by Zoom to a third party.
What should I do if I have been affected?
Please fill out the form on our co-counsel’s website: https://colletteparsons.com/zoom-privacy-breach-class-action/. You will be added to our database and kept apprised of developments.