Michael Friess

Effective 31 March [Corrected date] #Zoom changed their terms of service (T&C) whereby **without opt-out** YOU give them consent to perpetually use your “Customer Content” [Corrected wording] also for #AI #ML “training and tuning of algorithms and models”.
https://stackdiary.com/zoom-terms-now-allow-training-ai-on-user-content-with-no-opt-out/

Check for yourself:
https://explore.zoom.us/en/terms/
Introduced with 31 March update:
https://web.archive.org/web/20230725013414/https://explore.zoom.us/en/terms/
Compare with previous version from 1 February (archived by #WaybackMachine):
https://web.archive.org/web/20230301000542/https://explore.zoom.us/en/terms/

Zoom's updated Terms of Service permit training AI on user content without Opt-Out

Zoom Video Communications, Inc. recently updated its Terms of Service to encompass what some critics are calling a significant invasion of user privacy.

Stack Diary
Aug 6, 2023 at 4:41pmIvory for Mac
Show threadMichael FriessAug 7, 2023
Today #Zoom's Chief Product Officer wrote a post “How Zoom’s terms […] apply to #AI features”.
https://blog.zoom.us/zooms-term-service-ai/
How Zoom’s terms of service and practices apply to AI features | Zoom Blog

Editor’s note: This blog post was edited on August 11, 2023, to include the most up-to-date information on our terms of service. Following feedback

Zoom Blog
Show threadMichael FriessAug 7, 2023

You’ll never guess who updated their terms of services today…

**Unchanged** 10.4: You agree to grant ... [to do X] ...
Added in **bold**: … will not ... [do X] ... without your consent.

Isn’t “agree to grant" exactly “your consent”?
After those hectic actions today I am curious how this will further unfold.
#AI #ML

Show threadMichael FriessAug 20, 2023
Remember the fuzz about Zoom? It worked.
Meanwhile they backpedalled. The ToS from August 11th exclude any use for #AI #ML training.
For now.
https://explore.zoom.us/en/terms/
Zoom Terms of Service | Zoom

Read: Terms of Service – Zoom

Zoom
Show threadLG MediaAug 20, 2023
@mfriess this was an international concern regarding underage students on Zoom. Corporations can’t suddenly make an announcement and assume they’re not breaking laws.
Show threadCoach Pāṇini ®Aug 7, 2023
@mfriess @jrdepriest
Zoom says it does “not use audio, video, or chat content for training our models without customer consent.”
Show threadMichaelAug 6, 2023
@mfriess No-one should ever use that crap again.
Show threadnantucketlitAug 6, 2023
@mfriess Whenever possible, I try to use Jitsi Meet for video calls. It uses the Apache 2.0 license, which is GPL-compatible.
Show threadSimon PhippsAug 6, 2023

@mfriess
In addition to all this, in 10.6 you "represent and warrant that you have the right to upload Customer Input and for Zoom to provide, create, or make available any Customer Content to you, and that such use or provision by you, your End User, or Zoom does not violate or infringe any rights of any third party."

So you are basically indemnifying them if they train their AI with someone else's IP you are discussing internally via Zoom.

Show threadAT-AT Assault 🏳️‍⚧️Aug 6, 2023

@mfriess

I hate to use a "think of the children" argument, since they're so often used by fascists, but, uh, since so many schools used Zoom during the height of COVID, this does not bode well for privacy reasons.

Dollars to donuts, Zoom will sell videos of children and teenagers to cops and national spy agencies, and they will be trackable for the rest of their lives.

Show threadLiz LovelandAug 6, 2023

@mfriess @BRMiller Am I missing something - the previous TOS has the same words as in your quote...? Pasted from the Wayback Machine link:

"including for the purpose of product and service development, marketing, analytics, quality assurance, machine learning or artificial intelligence (including for the purposes of training and tuning of algorithms and models),"

Show threadMichael FriessAug 6, 2023
@lizl_genealogy Thank you for checking! Somehow I messed up with my text search. Just corrected my post: the change was already introduced with the 31 March update.
Compare with the 1 February version:
https://web.archive.org/web/20230301000542/https://explore.zoom.us/en/terms/
Zoom Terms of Service | Zoom

Read: Terms of Service – Zoom

Zoom
Show threadMahmoud AzAug 6, 2023

@mfriess

Is there is an option to stop this or it's forced?

Show threadsolientAug 6, 2023
@mfriess that's gonna go over like a lead balloon with places that still use it for medical purposes.
Show threadOlivier MenguéAug 6, 2023
@mfriess I can't opt-out: this is the software mandated by my employer.
Show threadChris FerdinandiAug 6, 2023
@mfriess I wonder if this is related to their automated transcription and captioning. It has gotten substantially better over the last year and that obviously uses LLM behind the scenes.
Show threadPomegranate County IrregularsAug 6, 2023
@mfriess @purinkle Figure out a convenient time and I’ll be pleased to join in some gibberish sessions.
Show threadWatchcat 🐈Aug 6, 2023
@mfriess Well then, Zoom is going to get a lot of accurate biblical knowlege because bible study and teaching is the only thing it is used for in my world, which consists of many, many other bible teachers all around the world. 😂
Show threadAnneAug 7, 2023
@mfriess @troublewithwords Important news for writing groups that do readings, critiques, workshops, etc over Zoom. #writing #WritingCommunity
Show threadMark McElroyAug 7, 2023
@annewalk @mfriess @troublewithwords Thanks for passing this on.
Show threadAxel GutmannAug 7, 2023
@mfriess Perhaps @PWS_1 might want to provide an assessment of the compatibility of that with the EU's GDPR?
Show threadJohn UlrikAug 7, 2023
@mfriess Not only that. I’m not a lawyer, but I read the passages to mean that Zoom (or anyone else, if they like) can use anything you send or receive through Zoom (ie, audio, video, chat messages, files) plus anything they make of it (ie, auto-generated subtitles) in practically any way they like, including machine learning. (Except for the explicit mentioning of AI, this has probably been there for a while, and it’s good that we pay attention.)
Show threadPeter SommerladAug 7, 2023
@mfriess thanks. can you suggest an alternative service that is less content greedy for running online trainings?
Show threadPeter SommerladAug 7, 2023
@mfriess would goto.com be a less data hungry alternative?
Show threadSiobhán McElduffAug 7, 2023
@mfriess this is going to run right up against a ton of legislation especially in thr EU.
Show threadKrisAug 7, 2023
@mfriess Eggyel kevesebb eszköz a használatomban. Megint.