Ethics approval considerations for Zoom users

Zoom have just updated their terms and conditions (sections 10.2 and 10.4 are the focus here) and there are some serious ethical concerns over how they’re intending on using the data i.e. the recordings you’re making on there of yourself and your respondents.

As Alex Ivanovs writes in this Stackdiary article, there is no opt-out of this update. By clicking the ‘I agree’ to the pop up box you’ll get, you are agreeing to let Zoom use your content to train its AI. Meaning your conversations will be processed through servers entirely out of your control.

Additionally, in section 10.4 Zoom is forcing you to agree to allow them to use your data “in perpetuity, worldwide and with non-exclusive, royalty free, sublicensable, and transferable license” to redistribute, publish, access, use, store, transmit, review, disclose, preserve, extract, modify, reproduce, share, use, display, copy, distribute, translate, transcribe, create derivative works, and process Customer Content.

Zoom have replied to this criticism by saying that users will receive an in-meeting notice when the features will be enabled, but this doesn’t address the non-optional language of section 10.4, which can be viewed on Zoom’s website, where they’ll be updated as and when Zoom seek to clarify. Or (hopefully) give an option for opt out.

Be careful out there!