Mozilla and the Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF) have presented an open letter to Zoom after it said it would require customers to pay for end-to-end encryption. The letter, signed by over 19,000 internet users, says that “best-in-class security should not be something that only the wealthy or businesses can afford.” The video conferencing software saw use boom during the Covid-19 pandemic, as did other video calling applications such as Microsoft Teams and Houseparty. However, comments from its CEO Eric Yuan that the company would not encrypt that conversations for free users so it can work better with law enforcement raised concerns for user security. The company had also shut down the account of a Tiananmen Square activist, who had a paid account, at the behest of the Chinese government. It has also been used for ‘zoombombing’, where people drop on Zoom calls in an attempt to disrupt them. In some other serious cases, people have been left subject to Footage of child absue as well as racist and homophobic imagery. Mozilla, which makes the Firefox browser, and the EFF argue that Zoom can be critical to helping protestors and activists organize. “Unfortunately, recent actions from law enforcement – and a long history of discriminatory policing – have legitimized such fears, making end-to-end encryption all the more critical” the letter continues. In the UK and the US, there have been numerous protests over the death of George Floyd, who was improperly treated by law enforcement.
