Zoom AI models using customer content?

Zoom CPO clarifies new terms of service on the app’s AI features, says it will not take user content without consent.

Check out Zoom’s new updated terms of service for its AI feature. (REUTERS)

With popular apps like Google, Microsoft, and Zoom opting for AI tools, users are raising concerns about their data being used without their consent. Recently Google's generative AI, Bard also faced issues regarding data scraped from public sources on the internet. The concern expressed about Zoom AI models have grown to such an extent that the company trotted out its Chief Product Officer to clear the situation. Saying that data safety is a prime focus area, Zoom CPO Smita Hashim revealed an updated version of its terms of service regarding its AI feature.

Zoom's updated terms of service

Zoom CPO, Hashim's blog post said that the company wants to make an effort to enhance transparency concerning data ownership in its terms of service. The change happened in March 2023.

Hashim writes, “Our intention was to make clear that customers create and own their own video, audio, and chat content. We have permission to use this customer content to provide value-added services based on this content, but our customers continue to own and control their content.”

According to the Stack Diary report. Sections 10.2 and 10.4 mostly highlighted howZoom handles user data.

Section 10.2 outlines that Zoom can access, use, collect, share, manage, and store service-generated data with user consent for "any purpose." Application categories here include machine learning or artificial intelligence, including algorithm and model training and refinement. The section 10.4 says that the customer retains ownership of the webinar invitations, and the Zoom license allows them to provide the service utilizing content. However, for AI, it does not use audio, video, or chat content for training their models without user consent.

Users can also allow the app to use and take their content for their AI models, Hashim added. It was also mentioned that the user content is only taken for improving the customer experience and enhancing their AI services.

The blog post also outlines that the AI will not use education or medical-related information to train their AI models without the user's permission.

Also, note that Zoom's AI features have been rolled out on a trial basis. The AI feature includes automatic meeting summaries and chat composition driven by AI. Owners and administrators of Zoom accounts will have the option of enabling these AI features.