Federal regulators are requiring Zoom to strengthen its security in a proposed settlement of allegations that the video conferencing service misled users about its level of security for meetings.
The settlement, approved by the Federal Trade Commission in a 3-2 vote, was announced Monday. A complaint filed by the agency accused Zoom of deceiving users over security since at least 2016. It said the company held on to cryptographic keys that allowed it to access content from its customers’ meetings, and secured meetings with a lower level of privacy encryption than it promised customers.
Zoom has become a staple during the coronavirus pandemic because it allows people to meet online rather than in person. The company claims some 300 million users, boosted by the tens of millions of workers around the world who were suddenly ordered to work from home in the spring as the virus outbreak shut down wide swaths of the economy.
The FTC alleged that Zoom “engaged in a series of deceptive and unfair practices that undermined the security of its users.”
Zoom Video Communications Inc., based in San Jose, California, would be required under the settlement to take specific measures, such as establishing a program for resolving privacy vulnerability.
Zoom said it has already addressed the problems cited by the FTC. The settlement “is in keeping with our commitment to innovating and enhancing our product as we deliver a secure video communications experience,” the company said in a statement Monday.
Gas down a penny in the Bay State
Gas prices are down about one cent in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, AAA said Monday.
The not-for-profit auto club said the average price for gas in Massachusetts is down from $2.08 per gallon last week to $2.07.
The average price is about 4 cents lower than a month ago and 49 cents cheaper than last Nov. 9., AAA said. The state’s average gas price is 4 cents lower than the national average.
Mary Maguire, AAA’s Northeast Director of Public and Government Affairs, said states ramping up travel restrictions and rolling back the economic reopening process has led to weaker demand and cheaper gas prices.