Zoom Clarifies AI Data Usage Policy in Updated Terms of Service

After so much of discussion on the changes introduced by Zoom Inc. on its terms of service,  the Video Communications platform has updated its terms of service once again. This update is to clear all the concerns raised by the users over the internet regarding the usage of the user data for its AI tool.

Zoom has made explicit clarifications about its data usage policy regarding artificial intelligence (AI) tools. This comes in response to public concerns that their videoconferencing data might be exploited to train AI models.

The company now explicitly states that “communications-like” customer data isn’t being used to train artificial intelligence models for Zoom or third parties.

The latest revision of the terms of service reads- 

Zoom does not use any of your audio, video, chat, screen sharing, attachments or other communications-like Customer Content (such as poll results, whiteboard and reactions) to train Zoom or third-party artificial intelligence models.

The company faced criticism due to language in its terms of service that some interpreted as granting Zoom broad rights over customer data. This raised concerns that the company might use the content discussed or presented during calls to hone its AI-powered features, such as its meeting summaries.

The contentious Section 10 of the terms has been revamped. It now differentiates more clearly between "customer content" and "service generated data."

According to Zoom, the refreshed policy is just reiterating its position more definitively after the company already revised the terms earlier this week to try and assuage customers. Before Friday’s revision, the most recent version said, “Zoom will not use audio, video or chat Customer Content to train our artificial intelligence models without your consent,” without clearly laying out what it would use or how consent is given.

While the terms have undergone revisions, Zoom emphasizes that their foundational stance on data remains unaltered. Prior to the recent update, the platform’s policy indicated that they would refrain from using any customer content for AI training without explicit user consent. However, the wording lacked precision on the specifics.

Smita Hashim, Zoom’s chief product officer, reiterated in an updated blog post that customers still retain ownership and control of their content. The older post version discussed how customer data is used for "value-added services" but did not explicitly include training their AI models.

This adjustment by Zoom is part of a more extensive conversation in the tech industry about data usage and privacy. As AI becomes more deeply integrated into our digital tools and platforms, companies face increasing scrutiny over their data handling practices. Transparent communication becomes crucial to instilling trust among users.