In California federal court on Tuesday, a United Kingdom and a New Zealand resident filed a class action against Zoom Video Communications Inc. over what it does with user data, the security of users’ personal information, and the extent to which video conferences are secured with end-to-end encryption and other security measures.
According to the suit, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States are party to the Five Eyes accord, “a long-standing secret intelligence agreement that allocates electronic surveillance collection among the five states and anticipates a high level of coordination and intelligence sharing.” The lawsuit adds that the people of those countries “share our values, our common language, [] and even the common law.”
Their complaint claims that non-American residents of the four countries were also wronged by the conduct alleged in the recently-settled In re: Zoom Video Communications Inc. Privacy Litigation. Though they were excluded from the $85 million class action settlement that received final approval in April, they are still victims of the video communication platforms’ alleged failures with regard to the Zoom Meetings Application, the complaint says.
According to the lawsuit, Zoom’s shortcomings include disclosing their personal information to unauthorized third parties, including Facebook and Google, failing to implement and maintain adequate security measures to safeguard users’ personal information and proper encryption in Zoom’s videoconferences, and failing to timely notify users of the unlawful disclosure of their personal information.
The lawsuit states claims under the California Constitution for invasion of privacy, under state law for breach of implied contract, and for equitable relief from Zoom’s purported unfair business practices. The complaint seeks injunctive relief halting the challenged conduct and damages, among other requests.
The plaintiffs and putative class are represented by Law Offices of David J. Gallo.
