Zooming in on our privacy and freedom of expression

 

Back in April, the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab revealed that a Zoom meeting between users located in Canada and the United States was routed through China. The communications platform, which during the pandemic has become the go-to medium to connect with family, friends, and colleagues, admitted the diversion of data thousands of miles away was “mistakenly” done. The company quickly moved to assure users there are no implications for the privacy of communications, and that the company would take measures to rectify the mistake.

Now, Zoom is again in the news. On 4 June, accounts of Hong Kong- and US-based pro-democracy activists who used Zoom to hold an event commemorating the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre were shuttered. Zoom justified that as a company, its operations are subject to local laws. Even though the hosts of the meeting was outside of China, Zoom argued it simply complied with demands by the Chinese government the virtual meetings and accounts be terminated. After much (social) media backlash, some accounts were later reinstated. 

Curiously, just one day earlier, Zoom’s own security consultant declared “Zoom does not proactively monitor content in meetings and will not in the future. Zoom doesn't record meetings silently. Neither of these will change”.

Yet, how does Zoom know about the vigils held to remember the crackdown on democracy, and the users who were attending these online vigils? And whatever happened to those users in China and whose accounts have not been reinstated?

The latest news is evidence that the company is actively monitoring and censoring communications of its users inside and outside of China. These concerns have already been raised about the NASDAQ-listed company, and the likes of SpaceX and NASA, as well as governments around the world, including Germany, Australia, and Taiwan, have banned or restricted the use of Zoom for these very reasons. In highlighting the surge of foreign cyberespionage in COVID-19-related research facilitated through remote working platforms, Canada’s own intelligence agency, the Communications Security Establishment, singled out Zoom and the fact that user communications were routed through servers in China. 

Twitter, Facebook and Google are also in the business of connecting people and facilitating communications. Like Zoom, these corporations operate in the cyber domain that is arguably beyond the jurisdiction of any State. However, the Chinese government has made clear at the United Nations that together Huawei, they wish to “reinvent” the internet to give governments more control over content and user data. The latest debacle surrounding Zoom is a sign of things to come.

Zoom self-proclaims to “fully [support] the open exchange of ideas and conversations”, yet unlike other platforms, it willingly submits itself to demands of an authoritarian government. This is a concern for all Canadians, and we must think carefully before signing in and unwittingly signing away our privacies and freedoms.