A class action is a lawsuit filed by one or more people called “representative plaintiffs” on behalf of other people who are similarly situated. This group of people is referred to as the “Class” or “Class Members.” The Court decides all the common issues in the lawsuit for all Class Members, except for those who have excluded themselves from the Class. The deadline to exclude yourself from the Class was June 8, 2023. This Class Action settlement was approved by the B.C. Supreme Court on January 2, 2024.
In April 2020, the Class Action was commenced in the British Columbia Supreme Court on behalf of persons residing in Canada. The defendant is Zoom Video Communications Inc. (“Zoom”).
Zoom denies these allegations. The court has not decided who is right.
On April 24, 2023, the British Columbia Supreme Court certified the Class Action for settlement purposes and authorized Gabriel Guese to act as representative plaintiff on behalf of the Class Members.
In the Class Action, the plaintiff alleges that Zoom (i) shared certain information with third parties and (ii) advertised Zoom Meetings as being encrypted “end-to-end” at a time when the plaintiff contends that it was not. Specifically, the Class Action advances four theories of alleged conduct by Zoom: (i) alleged unauthorized sharing of users’ information with Facebook through the incorporation of Facebook’s software development kit in the iOS Zoom application; (ii) alleged unauthorized sharing of users’ information with Google through the incorporation of Google’s Firebase Analytics software development kit in the Android Zoom application; (iii) alleged unauthorized sharing of users’ information with third parties through third-party developers’ development and deployment of apps that integrate with Zoom’s products; and (iv) allegations that Zoom advertised Zoom Meetings as being end-to-end encrypted at a time when the plaintiff alleges that it was not.
Zoom has agreed to pay the total amount of CAD$2 million in settlement of the Class Action (the “Settlement”). The Settlement is a compromise of disputed claims. Zoom denies any wrongdoing and is not admitting anything. After deduction of Class Counsel Fees and Disbursements, Administration Expenses and any honorarium for the plaintiff, the balance of the Settlement funds (the “Net Settlement Funds”) will be distributed to Class Members in accordance with the Distribution Protocol (as described in the Settlement Agreement).
Class Members are eligible to file a claim. Class Members are all persons residing in Canada who, as of June 30, 2020, had a registered Zoom Meetings user account or a paid Zoom Meetings subscription, and who between April 1, 2018 and June 30, 2020 registered, used, opened, or downloaded the Zoom Meetings application, or paid money to Zoom for a Zoom Meetings subscription, except for Enterprise and Business Subscribers and End User Accounts as of June 30, 2020 and End User Accounts associated with Enterprise and Business Subscribers as of June 30, 2020; and excluding any member of the judiciary presiding in this proceeding.
The Net Settlement Funds will be distributed to Class Members in accordance with the Distribution Protocol.
Each Class Member who has filed a valid claim will receive a portion of the Net Settlement Funds calculated in accordance with the Distribution Protocol. The Distribution Protocol provides for the following types of claims:
In the event that the total amount claimed by all Class Members exceeds the amount available for claims, then each payment will be reduced on a pro rata basis. Once the allocations of all Class Members who have filed valid claims have been ascertained, the net Settlement Funds will be allocated to those Class Members.
Subject to a further order of the British Columbia Supreme Court, all Class Members with valid claims are expected to receive a minimum payment of $15. The $15 valuation target is not an estimate of any damages suffered. It is a minimum administrative threshold designed to maintain a feasible economic and administrative platform for the settlement distribution.
If the total amount claimed by all Class Members exceeds the amount available for claims, then each payment will be reduced on a pro rata basis. Once the allocations of all Class Members who have filed valid claims have been ascertained, the net Settlement Funds will be allocated to those Class Members.
After the July 2, 2024 expiry of the claims period, the amount per claimant will be calculated based on the number of claimants and the net settlement funds after fees and administration expenses. If the cost of distribution exceeds the net settlement funds available, the settlement funds will instead be donated to the Law Foundation of British Columbia, a not for profit organization devoted to providing funding supporting the pursuit of justice in the public interest.
Claims can be submitted here until July 2, 2024.
The courts have appointed RicePoint Administration Inc. (an independent third party) to disseminate notice, receive opt outs, process claims, determine eligibility for payments, and issue payments to eligible Settlement Class Members.
The law firms of Parsons Corrin LLP and Murphy Battista LLP represent the Class Members.
Email: [email protected]
Website: Zoom Privacy Breach Class Action - Parsons Corrin LLP
Mail:
Parsons Corrin LLP
Attn: Zoom Privacy Class Action
1750 – 700 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC V7Y 1B6
You do not need to pay out-of-pocket for the lawyers working on the class actions. The lawyers were paid from the settlement funds in the amount approved by the courts.
All Court documents are available from the Documents page.