In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools nationwide have shut down campuses and transitioned to online learning environments through the use of Zoom, an online video conferencing app. Zoom allows teachers and students to hold classes virtually from their homes.

Zoom seems like the go-to solution for such a shutdown. But the use of Zoom is also a huge privacy concern. Researchers have found critical weaknesses in Zoom's security. For example, it uses an encryption method with well-known security flaws, possibly allowing third parties to decrypt and read all the video and audio of a meeting if intercepted. There is also evidence that some Zoom meetings are held over servers located in China, even when none of the participants are in China. These are servers that could be distributing encryption keys and are legally accessible to the Chinese government. You can read the full report here.

As a college student effectively forced to use Zoom to attend my classes, this is extremely concerning. It's required in many cases to use the webcam and screensharing. I don't think anyone finds it comfortable to think that their video, audio, and screen content could be viewed by some third party or foreign government. Everyone has the right to privacy, including students, and that right is being infringed upon by forcing the use of such an application on us.

This issue has already been acted upon by school districts, companies, and even government entities including NASA and the Taiwanese government. Here is a full list of entities that have banned, limited, or discouraged the use of Zoom.

California school districts have yet to act. We should ban (or limit) the use of Zoom in our schools and look to more secure and private alternatives.