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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: 2) by corey on Monday June 08 2020, @02:48AM (1 child)

    by corey (2202) on Monday June 08 2020, @02:48AM (#1004712)

    When I get the time, I'm keen to do some background reading on zoom. I'm still not understanding how they came to such fame from nowhere before covid-19. There were heaps of encumbants in the video conference market already. Getting traction in a busy market is super hard unless you have something really different to offer. I mean, FaceTime, Skype, Google whatever, WebEx, etc were all fully entrenched. Add suddenly everyone forgets that and starts using this new player with nothing new to offer.

    The only interesting and unique feature is breaking of subgroups of participants into isolated groups.

    I suspect some behind the scenes pumping up by investors, or government support (due to backdoors/spying) or done other whacky theory. It just seems more plausible than the accepted story.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 08 2020, @09:03AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 08 2020, @09:03AM (#1004771)

    I've posted about this elsewhere, but they invested heavily in the college and university level. The students then learned and became familiar with it. So it then spread by the network effect, IT asking people what they've used in the past, native advertising, and the VC bubble making them look big. Plus, in a lot of blogs and news, if you are covering today's big thing instead of tomorrow's and it isn't something "sexy," you are already behind or irrelevant; leaving no room for established competitors.

    But I would be lying if I told you that the animalistic part of my brain that tells me to wear a tinfoil hat didn't wonder if part of this was spread by China money buying said NA and USA pushing in the mainstream press because of the cozy relationships that have been revealed behind the scenes with ZOOM and the China and US governments.