FIT5205 Assignment 1: Critical Review of 'Zoom' Data Privacy Article

This report presents a critical review of Shaun Nichols' article, "Yeah, that Zoom app you're trusting with work chatter? It lives with 'vampires feeding on the blood of human data'," focusing on the data privacy concerns associated with the Zoom application. The review summarizes the article's key arguments, which highlight Zoom's collection and sharing of user data with advertising agencies, and the potential lack of user awareness regarding these practices. The report examines the evidence supporting these claims, including Zoom's privacy policies and related reports. The student agrees with the article's argument that Zoom should not use user data for targeted advertising without explicit consent. The review also applies Beard & Langstaff's Ethical Design framework, specifically consequentialism, to evaluate the ethical implications of Zoom's actions, arguing that Zoom's data practices could negatively impact user trust and company reputation. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of ethical considerations in data-driven technologies.

Running head: ARTICLE REVIEW
Applied data science
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

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ARTICLE REVIEW
A)Who has written the article? Where has it been published? What is the expertise/
reputation of the publication venue? When was it published?
The name of the article “Yeah, that Zoom app you're trusting with work chatter? It lives
with 'vampires feeding on the blood of human data”. It is found that the article was mainly
written by Shaun Nichols and the place of publication of the article is San Francisco. It is
analyzed that the place of publication of the article is San Francisco and san Francisco is one of
the official cities as well as country that is mainly known for its culture, commercial as well as
financial centre in Northern California. Moreover, the date of publication of the article is on 27th
March 2020 at 21.49. Additionally, the published article generally includes personal as well as
confidential information about the various users who utilizes Zoom for services like
videoconferencing. The collected data of the users are mainly sold to different advertising
agencies for sake of money.
B) What is the article about? Summarise the key argument(s) in your own words
The article generally reflects that as the coronavirus pandemic generally occurs therefore
the popularity of videoconferencing app like Zoom reaches to new heights. Zoom generally
extract data of the users and generally work with the Google as well as other types of ad
networks for turning the personal information into proper targeted ads that generally follows
them all across the web (Shaun, 2020). It is analyzed that a number of reports are reflecting that
Zoom was collecting as well as sharing user data related with advertisement, markets as well as
other types of companies for prompting them over the software marker’s privacy related policy
in order to know the way in which it generally processes messages, calls as well as different
types of transcripts. As per the privacy policy that is mainly launched on 18th March, it is found
that a number of types of personal information starting from the contract details to proper

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meeting with the clients are generally used for suiting their interest (Kuffmeier, Haugbølle &
Nordlund, 2017).
The claims that is made within this particular scenario are reflected below:
 Claim 1: Hacking of personal information and data of the customers and then selling it to
different advertising agencies for the sake of money is a great concern.
 Claim 2: It is claimed that the users of Zoom do not have any knowledge that their data
and personal information are used by the company.
 Claim 3: It is claimed that nobody goes to Zoom for advertising experience whether
personalized or not and therefore Zoom must inform its users about the information that
the company is storing.
C) What evidence (e.g. academic research, government report, company statement etc.) is
referred to, described and/or otherwise used to support the key argument (s)?
According to SaaStr (2020), it is found that Zoom’s privacy policy generally helps in
allowing the company for collecting different types of information from the meetings that is
arranged by the user from videos to various types of transcripts to the notes that one might have
shared with the help of Zoom chat feature. The privacy policy does not generally prevent Zoom
from utilizing personal information as well as details for targeting different types of ads on or off
the platform for undertaking the entire business process.
It is analyzed that after hearing the various concerns which are raise by the customers,
Zoom just posted one of the blogs according to which it clarifies the privacy policy of the
company. The new privacy policy helps in stating the customers content will not be utilized by
the company for advertising related purpose (Oe, Schafer & Hyer, 2019). In addition to this, the

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revised document also elaborates much more detail about the kind of consumer data which is
mainly collected by Zoom that further includes phone numbers as well as their user name.
D) Where do you agree and where do you disagree with key arguments? What evidence
support your views?
The report of Searls reflected that Zoom was mainly involved in sharing as well as
collecting information as well as sensitive details with different markers, companies as well as
advertisers for properly prompting an individual to pore over the entire software makers privacy
related policies for reflecting how it is generally processing the messages, calls as well as
different types of transcripts (Shaun, 2020). Furthermore, Searls warned Zoom for not using the
personal data of its customers and this statement is totally correct. This is because Zoom does not
have any types of rights of extracting data from different users as well as from meetings for
selling such information for undertaking different types of targeted ads (Oe, Schafer & Hyer,
2019).
It is analyzed that uses of Zoom are not aware about the information that could be
properly harvested from various Zoom accounts as well as video conferences for either tracking
or for advertising across the internet. It is found that a person that have proper personal data
needs to be properly shed on Zoom which do not know what is happening as Zoom do not
inform them. Furthermore, it is analyzed that nobody goes to Zoom for advertising experience
whether personalized and therefore zoom does must not use personal information. Moreover, this
statement is considered correct.
Zoom wrote a letter that further states that they do not utilize the contents of the meetings
as well as message for targeting people with proper adverts. Moreover, they generally monitor or

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utilizes various types of customer content for a particular reason other the services that is
provided.
Zoom also clarifies that it does not uses personal information as well as data from meetings in
order to make advertisement. This statement is totally disagreed as if this was true then issues
related with the privacy of the users have not occurred.
E) Which principle (s) of Beard & Langstaff’s Ethical design framework are most relevant
to the issues discussed in this article? How does this framework help to evaluate the
article’s key arguments?
It is found that consequentialism is one of the philosophies that helps in unifying the
belief that is mainly associated with ethics, outcomes as well as other things that generally
matters. It further helps in suggesting to do things that are right and that helps in ensuring that
the action which is mainly undertaken has proper positive impact (Beard & Longstaff, 2018). It
is found that there are a number of tents that are related with conceptualism according to which
only the ethical value of the action of the action is measure in order to determine whether the
undertaken option is correct or not.
It is found that Zoom must utilizes the Beard & Long staffs Ethical design framework
which is consequentialism in order to properly identify that the action that they do by using the
personal information of the customers for making advertisement is ethical or not. By analyzing
with the help of consequentialism theory, Zoom can proper understand that the privacy of the
customers is not secured and as a result the reputation of the company is hampering (Page,
2017). The action that is taken by Zoom for money can be considered as one of the weakest
points which can further exploit the entire business in the competitive world quite effectively.

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With the help of this particular framework, Zoom can make proper decision such that the use of
personal information of the users as well as details from the meetings will not be utilized for
selling it to Google or other ad making companies which not only secures customer data but also
increases the trust of the customers. Moreover, Zoom must also ensure the type of data that will
be kept in the database of Zoom.

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References
Beard & Longstaff. (2018). Ethical by Design: Principles for Good Technology - The Ethics
Centre. Retrieved 10 April 2020, from https://ethics.org.au/ethical-by-design/
Kuffmeier, M., Haugbølle, T., & Nordlund, Å. (2017). Zoom-in simulations of protoplanetary
disks starting from GMC scales. The Astrophysical Journal, 846(1), 7.
Oe, E., Schafer, E., & Hyer, A. (2019). Establishing Presence in an Online Course Using Zoom
Video Conferencing.
Page, T. (2017). Notions of Ethics in Technology and Design Education. i-Manager's Journal on
Management, 12(2), 1.
SaaStr, T. (2020). The Insider's Guide to How Zoom Does Marketing with Janine Pelosi.
Retrieved 10 April 2020, from https://www.saastr.com/insiders-guide-to-how-zoom-
does-marketing/
Shaun Nichols (2020). Yeah, that Zoom app you're trusting with work chatter? It lives with
'vampires feeding on the blood of human data'. Retrieved 10 April 2020, from
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/03/27/doc_searls_zoom_privacy