Zoom Video Communications Inc. has agreed to pay $85 million to settle a lawsuit that accused the company of violating user privacy and allowing others to jump into Zoom calls.

The lawsuit alleged that Zoom shared the data of millions of users with Facebook Inc., Google LLC and LinkedIn. Further, it was alleged that the company, despite offering end-to-end encryption, failed to act on “Zoombombing,” wherein third-party users jump into Zoom calls to disrupt them, often with graphic or disturbing content.

The lawsuit had been working its way through the U.S. District Court in San Jose, California, since earlier in the year. Reuters reported today that Judge Lucy Koh had previously ruled in March that Zoom was mostly immune for the accusations of Zoombombing under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act that shields online platforms from liability over user content.

A preliminary settlement was filed with the court on Saturday and still requires the approval of the judge. Under the terms of the settlement, subscribers to the class action will be eligible for 15% refunds on their core subscriptions up to $25, whichever is higher, while others could receive up to $15.

As part of the settlement, Zoom also agreed to implement new security measures, including alerting users when meeting hosts or other participants use third-party apps in meetings. The company also committed to providing specialized training to employees on privacy and data handling.

Zoom denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle. “The privacy and security of our users are top priorities for Zoom, and we take seriously the trust our user’s place in us,” Zoom said in a statement.

The lawsuit is not the first time privacy and security at Zoom has gained attention. New York’s Attorney General settled an investigation into the company in May 2020 on how it uses user data with Zoom agreeing to implement a series of security and privacy enhancement measures.

Zoom also entered a consent agreement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in November over allegations that Zoom misled users over privacy features, including encryption. Under the agreement, Zoom agreed to establish and implement a comprehensive security program, agreed to a prohibition on privacy and security misrepresentations and to provide specific relief to protect its user base.

Zoom’s issues with privacy came during a time of rapid growth for the company as it became the go-to video conferencing service of the COVID-19 pandemic. For many, Zoom is to videoconferencing now what Google is for search, something even the company itself probably never predicted would occur so quickly over a short time.

That rapid growth may be a thing of the past. As of its last earnings report, Zoom reported that its pandemic-fueled growth had started to wane. However, things could easily change with the Delta variant currently driving infection rates worldwide with places across the globe once again undertaking lockdowns.

Photo: Zoom