re: Zoom

Hello,

As much of the world was under stay-at-home orders in March, use of video chat platforms — notably Zoom — exploded.

We quickly went to work to address the privacy and security of these platforms. For the last six weeks, we have been working with Zoom to offer recommendations and help hold the company accountable. With stories of terrible disruptions — including racist and abusive harassment on the platform — it became clear that getting security right was an urgent need. And we began to suspect that as video chat use grew, it would be here to stay — making it all the more important that companies like Zoom prioritize user privacy and security. Zoom can set a standard for what consumers should expect from video chat platforms in the future.

Our hunch was confirmed last week when we released new research showing that 38% of Americans now using video chat platforms had not used them prior to coronavirus related lockdowns — and that 85% of those surveyed believe they will continue using them once coronavirus lockdowns are lifted.

It's clear that video chat platforms need to get this right — and that's why we have been working to hold Zoom to account. Now that we have seen Zoom make changes and received its commitment for continued improvements, we want to know what you think we should do next.

Keep the focus on Zoom

Hold other video chat platforms accountable

Both

We met with Zoom last month to make several recommendations that we developed with input from security experts and Mozilla's IT team. To follow up on those recommendations, we sent a letter to Zoom's CEO Eric Yuan asking him to prioritize four changes to help protect people from having their meetings disrupted — often with harassing content — as well as to increase the core security and privacy of the service.

In response, we were invited to a meeting with some of Zoom's senior leaders to discuss how they are working to implement those and other important features. It appears the company is taking the concerns that we and others have raised very seriously and is working toward thoughtful solutions. These include strengthening user privacy by changing hosts' ability to unmute others so that participants can no longer be unmuted without their knowledge or consent, and exploring how to implement multi-factor authentication. In fact, one of our security suggestions that screen sharing be on for only the host by default was implemented on May 9.1

In addition to our focus on Zoom, we recently released the latest edition of *Privacy Not Included, which evaluates 15 video chat platforms. Just after its release, one of the platforms that did not meet our minimum security guidelines updated its password requirements so that it now does.

By focusing on how the tools so many of us are depending on right now prioritize consumer privacy and security, we can help influence standards for how platforms design, develop and implement these important services.

With so much changing during this pandemic, Mozilla remains committed to standing up for consumer privacy and holding companies to account. Your input will help us decide what's next.

Keep the focus on Zoom

Hold other video chat platforms accountable

Both

Think we should pivot to something else? Let us know here.

Thank you for your input.

— The Mozilla Team

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