Zoom has made yet another revision to its terms of service (TOS) to address mounting concerns over its use of customer data for training artificial intelligence (AI) models. In response to criticism from users and privacy advocates, the company clarified that it does not utilize audio, video, chat, screen sharing, attachments, or other communications collected from its communication app to train its own or third-party AI models.
This move follows a prior adjustment where Zoom indicated it would seek customer consent before utilizing their data for AI model training. The earlier TOS changes, which granted broad rights to use customer data, including for AI training, had sparked a backlash, with concerns raised about compliance with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The controversy has highlighted the challenges technology companies face as they navigate the intersection of AI development and user data privacy. The revision in Zoom’s TOS serves as a cautionary tale for such companies, emphasizing the importance of transparent data usage policies and obtaining proper user consent.
Notably, AI innovation has been predicted to have a significant impact on the stock market, with companies like Nvidia experiencing substantial stock price growth due to their involvement in advanced AI systems.
In recent developments, Zoom introduced generative AI features such as Zoom IQ Meeting Summary and Zoom IQ Team Chat Compose, which automate meeting summaries and chat composition. Although initial statements suggested potential data use for enhancing these features, Zoom now explicitly states that communication data is not employed in training its AI models.
The company also emphasizes that account owners or administrators activate the AI features, and participants are informed through the user interface about the use of AI technology.
