Understanding Zoom's Updated Terms on AI & Customer Data

Nowadays, with data privacy and security being more and more top of mind,  changes in terms of service by major platforms can raise eyebrows. 

Recently, Zoom revised its terms, and while most glossed over the fine print, the nonprofit sector, especially sensitive to AI privacy issues, took note.

What changed?

In early August, Zoom introduced clauses in its terms of service that seemed to give the platform broad latitude to use customer generated data (e.g. meeting recordings, transcripts, screen shares, chats, etc.)  for almost any purpose, including machine learning and artificial intelligence. This caused something of an outcry across the more privacy-minded customers of Zoom and especially in the nonprofit sector. 

Following the concerns voiced by various stakeholders, Zoom made another update on August 11, 2023. The updated terms clarify the platform's stance on using customer data, especially in the context of AI. The updated terms Zoom published on August 11th states the following, in bold:

“Zoom does not use any of your audio, video, chat, screen sharing, attachments or other communications-like Customer Content (such as poll results, whiteboard and reactions) to train Zoom or third-party artificial intelligence models.”

If you wish to read this for yourself, please refer directly to Zoom's updated terms. In addition, Zoom provided an explanation of the changes in a recent blog post.

Key Takeaways for Nonprofits:

• Data Usage for AI: While Zoom maintains rights to service-generated data, they have stated they will “not use any of your audio, video, chat, screen sharing, attachments or other communications-like Customer Content (such as poll results, whiteboard and reactions) to train Zoom or third-party artificial intelligence models."
• Extra Caution: If nonprofits wish to be extra cautious, administrators should ensure that features like Zoom IQ Meeting Summary and Zoom IQ Team Chat Compose are disabled. These features can potentially use AI-driven insights derived from meeting and chat content. Instructions here, screenshot below.

In Conclusion

While the updated terms offer clearer boundaries on data usage, we ALWAYS appreciate organizations being proactive about understanding and navigating changes to terms of service with providers. Knowledge truly is power and staying informed is the first step to ensuring the privacy and security of the information you care about.