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posted by martyb on Sunday June 07 2020, @10:57AM   Printer-friendly
from the you-don't-get-what-you-don't-pay-for dept.

Zoom says free users won't get end-to-end encryption so FBI and police can access calls:

Video calling company Zoom confirmed this week that it won't enable end-to-end encryption for free calls in part because it wants to give law enforcement access to these calls if necessary. "We think this feature should be a part of our offering" for professional customers, said Zoom CEO Eric Yuan in a meeting with investors Tuesday. "Free users — for sure we don't want to give [them] that, because we also want to work together with the FBI, with local law enforcement, in case some people use Zoom for a bad purpose."

Encryption is a key issue for Zoom, which has been attempting to beef up its privacy and security after heavy usage exposed weak points during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reuters reported last week that the company will only roll out high-security end-to-end encryption to paying customers, potentially with exceptions for dissident groups or nonprofits that require the added security.

Additional Coverage At:
Zoom Restricts End-to-End Encryption to Paid Users
Zoom's End-to-End Encryption Will Be for Paying Customers Only
Zoom says free users won't get end-to-end encryption so FBI and police can access calls
Zoom faces criticism for denying free users e2e encryption


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 07 2020, @12:56PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 07 2020, @12:56PM (#1004483)

    The only thing Zoom work for is long monologues. The second you try to interact or, what's the word... talk, it turns choppy as shit and you put your head in your hands and go back to listening to monologue.

  • (Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Sunday June 07 2020, @04:35PM (1 child)

    by Grishnakh (2831) on Sunday June 07 2020, @04:35PM (#1004543)

    Not my experience at all. For ~10-player online games, I've found it works brilliantly well. No choppiness at all, even when multiple people start talking at once. It's totally unlike, for instance, Facebook Messenger's video chat, which can't even handle a simple two-person convo without the audio getting choppy in my experience.

    I've seen people ask before "why do people use Zoom?" in discussions like this, and the answer I've seen was basically "it just works", and I have to agree. My experiences with video chat on other platforms has been less than stellar, while my experiences with Zoom with 5-10 person groups has been quite excellent as far as audio and video quality. (I haven't tried Zoom for a 2-person conversation.) So I can understand why people want to use it: what good is robust encryption if the audio is so choppy you can't understand people?

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 07 2020, @06:41PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 07 2020, @06:41PM (#1004579)

      in discussions like this, and the answer I've seen was basically "it just works", and I have to agree.

      I couldn't agree more. I've participated in a bunch of Zoom calls and it was really easy:
      1. Pick up my analog Panasonic cordless phone (attached to an ATA configured for my VOIP provider);
      2. Dial the local telephone number listed at the end of the meeting invitation;
      3. Enter the meeting ID and password when prompted, and;
      4. Enjoy the wonders of Zoom calls.

      With No sound quality issues at all. Everything was crystal clear.

      What's more, I didn't have any security concerns either. It works great!

      Good on Zoom!