Controversy aside, or is it rising against all odds? Zoom to open end-to-end encryption feature to all platform users.

The remote conferencing software service platform Zoom officially announced on June 17th that starting next month, both free and paid users on the platform will be able to use the upcoming end-to-end encryption (E2EE) feature once they pass the company's identity verification process.

Paid Members Only

According to previous reports, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan mentioned in a conference call in early June that the end-to-end encryption (E2EE) service currently being developed by Zoom will only be available to enterprise or paid customers to prevent malicious users from using the feature for illegal activities. Eric Yuan stated during the call:

"Certainly, we do not want to give that [end-to-end encryption] to free users because we want to work together with FBI and local law enforcement in case some people use Zoom for a bad purpose."

This announcement immediately sparked criticism, with renowned journalist Adam L. Penenberg questioning whether being able to pay for Zoom services equates to being crime-free.

Because people who can afford to pay for Zoom don’t commit crimes?

— Adam L. Penenberg (@Penenberg) June 3, 2020

Following this, a Zoom spokesperson clarified in an interview with The Independent that the company's strategy is to provide end-to-end encryption to "users who pass KYC" rather than just "paid users." However, when asked if users can apply for KYC and use the feature without payment, the Zoom spokesperson did not provide a definitive response.

Accessible with KYC Only

However, according to Zoom's latestofficial announcement, the company has confirmed that all users who pass identity verification (KYC) on the platform will be able to use the company's end-to-end encryption feature.

"We have identified a path forward that balances the legitimate right of all users to privacy and platform user privacy and security. This will enable us to offer E2EE to all our users globally as an advanced add-on feature for all accounts, free and paid, while maintaining our ability to prevent and fight abuse on our platform."

According to Zoom, the end-to-end encryption feature will enter beta testing as early as July. However, end-to-end encryption will only be an optional feature and will not be set as the default encryption method, as it may have limitations in certain scenarios such as using traditional PSTN phone lines or in SIP/H.323 hardware conference systems.

Rebuilding Security Reputation

Despite Zoom's rapid rise in popularity in the market due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a significant increase in active users in a short period, the platform has faced numerous controversies regarding user privacy and security. In April this year, reports claimed that the company's claims about user data encryption mechanisms were misleading as they found that Zoom officials had access rights to user data. Additionally, Zoom recently admitted to Voice of America that it complied with Chinese requests to block accounts and meetings related to the Tiananmen Square incident.

These issues have raised concerns among many regarding the platform's privacy and cybersecurity, with some businesses already beginning to boycott Zoom. Notably, Elon Musk's SpaceX banned its employees from using Zoom in April citing "significant privacy and security concerns." The upcoming beta version with end-to-end encryption feature may help restore Zoom's tarnished reputation in terms of information security, regaining the trust of both regular and enterprise users.

Despite the controversies, Zoom's stock (ZM) has risen by 352% in the past six months.