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New York Attorney General and Zoom reach agreement on privacy concerns

New York Attorney General Letitia James announced an agreement with Zoom on Thursday over her office’s inquiry into the videoconferencing platform’s privacy issues. 

Zoom and James reached an agreement — rather than a formal settlement — over the privacy issues James brought up in her March 30 letter to Zoom. 

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Zoom implemented a 90-day plan on April 1 to enhance its platform’s safety and security in response to James’ concerns and a class-action lawsuit filed against the company. 

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“We are pleased to have reached a resolution with the New York Attorney General, which recognizes the substantial work that Zoom has completed as part of our 90-day security and privacy plan, including making a number of our pre-existing security features on by default and also introducing new security enhancements,” a Zoom spokesperson told Digital Trends. “We are grateful for the New York Attorney General’s engagement on these important issues and are glad to have reached this resolution so quickly.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James
New York Attorney General Letitia James Desiree Navarro / Getty Images

James’ letter outlined concerns such as Zoom being slow to address recent security flaws and trolls hijacking Zoom meetings. 

Zoom has since made a variety of security updates, such as making its iOS app no longer able to send data to Facebook’s servers. Zoom also enacted a feature freeze to focus on trust, safety, and privacy issues.

It has also tightened up its previously vague language regarding user data in its privacy policy. 

“This agreement puts protections in place so that Zoom users have control over their privacy and security, and so that workplaces, schools, religious institutions, and consumers don’t have to worry while participating in a video call,” James said in a statement.

Allison Matyus
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Allison Matyus is a general news reporter at Digital Trends. She covers any and all tech news, including issues around social…
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