Popular video conferencing app, Zoom has settled a class-action lawsuit over alleged privacy and security concerns. The company agreed to pay $85 million while denying any allegations and liabilities.
Zoom gained popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic and has since seen a six-fold growth in the number of users. In April 2021, the company reported 497,000 consumers, up from 81,900 reported in January 2020.
The lawsuit alleges that the company shared user information with third parties without the consent of its users via SDKs and marketplace apps. The lawsuit also claims that Zoom falsely advertised its end-to-end encryption and failed to prevent unwanted meeting disruptions by third parties, popularly known as ‘Zoombombing.’
Who Can Get $25 From Zoom?
According to the terms of the settlement, people that used the video conferencing app’s services before July 2021 are eligible for filing a claim.
The Zoom Meetings Class Action lists two groups of users who are eligible for filing this claim. If a user paid a subscription fee for a Zoom Meetings App between March 30th, 2016, and July 30th, 2021, they can file a claim for $25 or 15% of the paid subscription fee, excluding optional add-ons. Users are entitled to accept whichever offer is greater.
Users that are not eligible for the first group, but “registered, used, opened, or downloaded the Zoom Meetings App” between March 30th, 2016 and July 30th, 2021 can also file a claim for $15.
Those who have an “Enterprise-level Account” or a government account are ineligible for filing any claims.
The claims must be submitted before 5th March 2022 via the form available online or by mailing the completed form. Payments to users may vary over time depending on the number of claims submitted.
The settlement has been preliminarily approved by the court, while the company waits for the final hearing scheduled for 7th April 2022.