Thousands petition Zoom over end-to-end encryption on calls
Nearly 70,000 internet users, over two petitions, are calling for changes from the video conferencing company
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Your support makes all the difference.Mozilla and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) have presented an open letter to Zoom after it said it would require customers to pay for end-to-end encryption.
The letter, signed by over 19,000 internet users, says that “best-in-class security should not be something that only the wealthy or businesses can afford.”
The video conferencing software saw use boom during the coronavirus pandemic, as did other video calling applications such as Microsoft Teams and Houseparty.
However, comments from its CEO Eric Yuan that the company would not encrypt conversations for free users so it can work better with law enforcement raised concerns for user security.
The company had also shut down the account of a Tiananmen Square activist, who had a paid account, at the behest of the Chinese government.
It has also been used for ‘zoombombing’, where people drop in on Zoom calls in an attempt to disrupt them.
In some serious cases, people have been left subject to footage of child abuse as well as racist and homophobic imagery.
Mozilla, which makes the Firefox browser, and the EFF argue that Zoom can be critical to helping protestors and activists organise.
“Unfortunately, recent actions from law enforcement – and a long history of discriminatory policing – have legitimized such fears, making end-to-end encryption all the more critical” the letter continues.
In the UK and the US, there have been numerous protests over the death of George Floyd, who was improperly treated by law enforcement.
It also posits that Zoom’s approach against end-to-end encryption for all users could jeopardise the encryption debate more broadly.
The letter references the US government’s recent Earn It act which would break encryption for all people in an attempt to stop criminals.
At the same time, a similar petition is being presented to Zoom by a number of groups including Fight for the Future, Daily Kos, MPower Change, Mijente, Kairos, Media Alliance, and Jewish for Peace.
That petition has been signed over 50,000 times by internet users, arguing that people who can’t afford Zoom’s services are “left vulnerable to cyber-criminals, stalkers, and hackers.”
“Zoom is volunteering to fuel an oppressive police state at the very moment protesters are fighting to end it. Not only does Zoom compromise the safety of activists using the platform, they’re putting all users who can’t afford paid accounts in danger. End to end encryption should not be a premium feature.” said Evan Greer, deputy director of Fight for the Future in a statement.
“There is literally no reason not to offer free end to end encryption to everyone other than to do cops a favor. In doing this, Zoom is reinforcing a lie that widespread availability of end to end encryption is inherently dangerous, which is just nonsense. This is a decisive moment of change. Now more than ever Zoom needs to implement end to end encryption wherever possible to keep all users safe, not just corporations and rich people.”
Ntebo Mokuena, digital campaigner at Daily Kos, echoed similar sentiments: “The internet and video services have never been more important, helping us stay in touch with friends, loved ones, colleagues, and more in these challenging times.”
“While Zoom has become a leading provider of these services, its willingness to put users’ privacy and security at risk by making end-to-end encryption available only to those who can afford to pay extra is reprehensible” Mokuena said.
“We want to make end-to-end encryption widely available and are exploring ways to do so safely. It is an important security tool and doing this respectfully at scale for a product like Zoom hasn’t been done" a Zoom spokesperson said.
"Our end-to-end encryption offering is still a work in progress and we are currently listening to feedback from child safety advocates, civil liberties organisations, encryption experts, and law enforcement, and will provide an updated white paper incorporating this feedback soon.”
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