Zoom has responded to widespread criticism by updating its terms of service to address concerns about AI data scraping.
In a blog post on August 7th, the video-conferencing platform clarified that it will not use user content, including chat, audio, or video, to train artificial intelligence algorithms without explicit consent.
The controversy arose over a section in Zoom’s terms that implied the company could utilize a broad range of customer content to train AI models.
This led to a backlash, with numerous users threatening to abandon the platform.
Zoom explained that the AI-related terms had been added back in March, but they have now been updated to emphasize that they will not utilize any customer data for AI training without obtaining consent first.
This revision is aimed at reassuring users about their data privacy and control over how their information is used.
The company’s AI offerings, such as the meeting summary tool and message composer, are opt-in features, meaning account owners or administrators can decide whether to enable them.
Before Zoom clarified its terms, concerned users took to Twitter to voice their displeasure and called for a boycott until the terms were updated.
The issue stemmed from the section in which users had previously consented to Zoom using, collecting, distributing, and storing “Service Generated Data” for various purposes, including AI and machine learning model training.
It’s worth noting that other tech companies have also updated their privacy policies to allow for data scraping to train AI models.
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For example, in July, Google updated its policies to permit the use of public data for AI training.
The broader tech industry has been facing growing scrutiny over its use of AI and potential privacy implications.
In June, European Union consumer protection groups urged regulators to investigate AI models used in chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Bard.
The concerns primarily revolved around disinformation, data harvesting, and manipulation generated by these bots.
As a response to these concerns, the EU passed the AI Act on June 14th, which is set to take effect within the next two to three years.
The Act establishes a framework for the development and deployment of AI technologies, aiming to address privacy and ethical considerations surrounding AI usage.
In conclusion, Zoom’s update to its terms of service aims to allay user fears about AI data scraping and ensure that customer content will not be used for AI training without their explicit consent.
The move comes in the context of wider industry concerns about AI usage and privacy, leading to changes in privacy policies and the implementation of regulatory frameworks like the AI Act in the European Union.
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