Zoom CEO: No end-to-end encryption for free users so company can work with law enforcement

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The CEO of popular video conferencing software Zoom said the company has no plans to offer end-to-end encryption to users of its free version so it can continue working with law enforcement.

During the company's quarterly earnings call, Zoom CEO and Chairman Eric Yuan was asked about plans to use end-to-end to bolster the privacy of video calls.

Yuan said the option is something the wants to offer business or enterprise customers, but not users accessing the platform for free.

"We don't want to give that because we also want to work together with FBI, with local in case some people, they use Zoom for the bad purpose," Yuan said.

Zoom did not offer a timeline for when end-to-end encryption would roll out. This type of encryption protects communications from being accessible to only the organizer of a Zoom call and invitees.

While Zoom has skyrocketed in popularity as more people work from home, the video conferencing tool has been criticized over how well it secures call after a string of "Zoom bombings" where outside users would invade and disrupt calls. A California church filed a class-action lawsuit against Zoom after its virtual Bible study class was "Zoom bombed" with pornographic images.

Zoom has since introduced a variety of security features to better protect calls.

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