GoKawiilIn a bold move, the Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC), a non-profit organization that supports free and open-source software (FOSS) projects, has called upon FOSS contributors to steer clear of Zoom, the popular video conferencing platform. This call comes in the wake of an ongoing AI-related controversy over Zoom’s terms of service.
Last March, Zoom quietly made some changes to the terms of service in its fine print. The platform added Section 10.4 as a clause that granted it perpetual and royalty-free rights for using customer content.
Zoom intends to use this content to train ML models. This decision of Zoom sparked concerns about the privacy of user-generated content within the tech community.
It was back during the pandemic that the concerns of SFC about data security were expressed.
Throughout the pandemic and its widespread Zoom adoption, we warned that relying on proprietary, for-profit controlled technology as essential infrastructure is dangerous. SFC
Last Tuesday, the organization expressed its stance once again, demonstrating why Zoom’s policies should prompt the open-source community to refrain from using the platform. In a post, SFC outlined the key reasons to abandon Zoom, focussing on the long-term implications.
Zoom Responds To The Backlash
Zoom modified its terms of usage, clarifying that it wouldn’t use audio, video, or chat customer content for training AI models without obtaining user consent. The company revised its terms on August 11th, agreeing to comply with its previous statement.
However, SFC seems to remain steadfast in its stance, despite the recent adjustments made by Zoom. The organization also expressed its intention to incorporate BigBlueButton’s open-source chat software into its infrastructure. This would help the open-source community access an alternative platform for video call services. Interestingly, BigBlueButton’s software was already accessible to FOSS member projects in the past.
SFC pointed out the complexity of Zoom’s terms while urging the FOSS community to reconsider its reliance on the video conferencing platform.
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