BNR – Zoom, the prominent video-conferencing platform, has undertaken a significant revision of its terms of service. The company particularly focused on the utilisation of artificial intelligence (AI) models for customer calls.

AI Utilisation in Customer Calls Requires Explicit Consent

Responding to a wave of apprehension following the discovery of modifications to its terms of service earlier this year, Zoom has embarked on clarifying its stance on the application of AI technology. The company stressed that customer-generated audio, video, and chat content will not be harnessed for AI training without explicit consent.

In a comprehensive blog post, Zoom underscored its commitment to safeguarding user data and ensuring that the evolution of its AI-powered functionalities maintains stringent ethical standards. The company’s recent adjustments are aimed at enhancing transparency and reinforcing its dedication to respecting user privacy.

The inception of these changes followed the new AI-powered features by Zoom in June, an initiative to enhance user experience. One of these features empowers users to extract summarised insights from meetings, thereby negating the necessity to record entire sessions. Users received this innovative offering as a complimentary trial.

Zoom: Response to User Concerns Reinforces Data Protection Commitment

Amidst these advancements, concerns emerged within the user community regarding the potential implications of the original terms of service. Experts, including data protection specialist Robert Bateman, pointed out that the initial language of the terms could have inadvertently granted Zoom greater access to user data, potentially encompassing customer calls.

Bateman, emphasising the need for clarity and circumspection in contractual provisions, highlighted that alarm bells should ring when you encounter broad contractual provisions like these.

Addressing these concerns head-on, Zoom swiftly and proactively revised its terms of service. Furthermore, the company stated, “Zoom will not use [user] content to train our artificial intelligence models without your consent.”

This proactive measure by Zoom illustrates its commitment to aligning with evolving user expectations and industry best practices. Also, they ensure that technological advancements are getting support by robust safeguards for user privacy and data protection.