US Lawmakers Ask Zoom To Clarify China Ties After it Suspends Accounts (reuters.com) 40
Three U.S. lawmakers asked Zoom to clarify its data-collection practices and relationship with the Chinese government after the firm said it had suspended user accounts to meet demands from Beijing. From a report: The California-based firm has come under heavy scrutiny after three U.S. and Hong Kong-based activists said their accounts had been suspended and meetings disrupted after they tried to hold events related to the anniversary of China's Tiananmen Square crackdown. Zoom said on Friday it was notified of the events and asked to take action by the Chinese government in May and early June. It said it suspended one account in Hong and two in the United States but has now reinstated these accounts and will not allow further requests from China to affect users outside the country.
"We did not provide any user information or meeting content to the Chinese government," Zoom said in a statement. "We do not have a backdoor that allows someone to enter a meeting without being visible." The online meeting platform, which has surged in popularity as the COVID-19 pandemic has forced millions around the world indoors, has seen its downloads soar in China.
"We did not provide any user information or meeting content to the Chinese government," Zoom said in a statement. "We do not have a backdoor that allows someone to enter a meeting without being visible." The online meeting platform, which has surged in popularity as the COVID-19 pandemic has forced millions around the world indoors, has seen its downloads soar in China.
Not Allow Further Requests (Score:3)
Conveniently outside the June 4th remembrance. How good of them!
Re: Not Allow Further Requests (Score:1)
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It would be great if they don't pull such shenanigans in the future.
Yes, that would be good.
But they are a private company, and it is their right to set their own policies about who can and can't use their platform.
So why are American politicians demanding that they justify their actions?
Zoom shouldn't cave in to the demands from China's government. But they shouldn't cave in to demands from America's government either.
Re: Not Allow Further Requests (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: Not Allow Further Requests (Score:4, Interesting)
Zoom is a Chinese company, fronting as an American one. You can claim legal incorporation and this and that, but at the end of the day, it's the Chinese CP that controls Zoom.
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It's true. China controls much of the new silicon valley. Pretty much all the "appy" crap is just a data pipeline to the CCP.
Re: Not Allow Further Requests (Score:3)
Two pieces of legislation are of particular concern to governments â" the 2017 National Intelligence Law and the 2014 Counter-Espionage Law. Article 7 of the first law states that âoeany organization or citizen shall support, assist and cooperate with the state intelligence work in accordance with the law,â adding that the the state âoeprotectsâ any individual and organization that aids it.
And it appears that organizations and individuals donâ(TM)t have a choice when it comes t
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Zoom is a U.S. company so the U.S. government has jurisdiction over them.
From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoom_Video_Communications):
Zoom's product development team is largely based in China, where an average entry-level tech salary is one-third of American salaries, which is a key driver of its profitability. Zoom's R&D costs are 10 percent of total revenue, less than half of the median percentage among its peers.
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But they are a private company, and it is their right to set their own policies about who can and can't use their platform.
Zoom is a public company, not private.
So why are American politicians demanding that they justify their actions?
Lawmakers in this country have the right to question Zoom when it censors its paying users. In China you can cancel their membership, refund and be done with it. Here in this country, paying customers have rights. When the service provider deliberately interrupts service for political purpose, it won't slide easily.
Zoom shouldn't cave in to the demands from China's government. But they shouldn't cave in to demands from America's government either.
They better cave when Congress of this country makes inquiry because the inquiries are legally protected by the Constitution. It's not Yuan's call entirel
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You know what else is legally protected by the Constitution? Congress' oversight of the Executive branch. Which means when Congress issues a subpoena, you don't say, "I'm not showing up because I don't believe this is justified" and think you can get away with it. Because if you do, then so does the other guy when they have a subpoena from Congress to appear.
That also mean
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Congress' oversight of the Executive branch.
That's not how anything works.
When the executive and legislative disagree, you go to the judicial. Congress refused to go to court. They knew they were in the wrong and would just lose.
No, it wouldn't have taken years for a decision. It was a clear cut case, and this SCOTUS has been churning out results rapidly.
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Zoom is a public company, not private.
Zoom is a privately owned company that is publically traded on NASDAQ.
Zoom's headquarters are in San Jose, California.
Most of Zoom's employees are in China.
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But they are a private company, and it is their right to set their own policies about who can and can't use their platform.
So why are American politicians demanding that they justify their actions?
Generally, I agree with you. But people also have a right to know what things are censored by which groups/companies, particularly when the influencing parties are foreign.
(Those of us in the US at least understand domestic politics-- but many people don't really understand foreign influences, so clarity is important.)
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But they are a private company, and it is their right to set their own policies about who can and can't use their platform.
AT the same time, it is our right to require that Zoom register as a foreign agent if it acts out Chinese interests.
Re:Not Allow Further Requests (Score:4, Insightful)
As much as it would cause massive chaos in the world, I think I would throw a week-long party to celebrate if the Chinese citizenry rose up to overthrow their government.
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The poindexters are technically correct, don't like it, vote to fix the system or switch to self-hosting with FLOSS (ideally both). It's also your right to boycott Zoom to show your disagreement. Zoom then has to choose between the business losses of being boycotted over caving to China's censorship, vs. being blocked at the Great Firewall.
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"they are a private business and if they want to polish Winnie the Xi Bear's boots with their tongues that is their right as free, rational actors in the economy..."
This is mostly true except when you realize that Chinese "private" companies have no choice when the CCP "requests" something of them.
Same people whining "muh racism" on the streets will gladly cry "you're RACIST" if someone stands up to China.
No. The people on the streets are Americans. It was mostly CCP puppets that claimed people were being "racist" for acting against China. Some people went along for the ride but fools exists in all cultures.
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Comment removed (Score:4, Informative)
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...Its last 3 protracted land wars have either been lost, or ended in a stalemate...
Its last 3 protracted land wars have either been lost, created mayhem and chaos in subject lands, or ended in a stalemate.
[bold mine]
It missed the market entirely with 5G, while pouring resources in foreign wars, and its attempts to blackball Huawei to buy time for US chipmakers to play catchup
Again bold mine...
Re:the US does this all the time. (Score:5, Informative)
US corporations like youtube will take down or censor things like "how to build a nuclear bomb" or "how to enrich uranium."
Those are really shitty examples because I literally just found detailed explanations of both.
how to build a nuclear bomb: https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
how to enrich uranium: https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
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US corporations like youtube will take down or censor things like "how to build a nuclear bomb" or "how to enrich uranium."
Those are really shitty examples because I literally just found detailed explanations of both.
how to build a nuclear bomb: https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com] how to enrich uranium: https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Mod parent up. There is no moral equivalence to be drawn between the United States and the (rather dishonestly-named) People's Republic of China.
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1) take 2 largish chunks of U235. chunk size depends on the purity of your U235
2) slam them together
3) run away very quickly
Lets see how long this stays up.
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US corporations like youtube will take down or censor things like "how to build a nuclear bomb" or "how to enrich uranium." AT&T will pass along most of its data to PRISM and 5 eyes nation governments through clandestine and contested agreements and operations regardless of your preference as a customer. The only difference is, China doesnt drag the US into court demanding to know whats collected and why.
China doesn't need courts when it has much more direct and effective methods of enforcement. It's the US that has to bother with the formalities of trying to appear legally proper.
The US is no longer a superpower.
The US has definitely lost some of its ability to influence the world. And it's no longer the sole nor necessarily the strongest superpower in all aspects. However, it is obviously still a superpower. Economically. Culturally. Even militarily.
Oh, I believe there's no back door. (Score:2)
For there to be a back door you'd have to have a wall to put it in.
Don't you mean "pounced?" (Score:2)
No back door? (Score:2)
We do not have a backdoor that allows someone to enter a meeting without being visible.
You created one when you switched from ALSA to (network facing) Pulse Audio. All your microphones are belong to us.
CCP gave them the list of accounts... (Score:3)
As others have said, they don't have a back door. CCP is in the house. CCP is able to see the IP address, account, and has full access to the stream. They knew who it was and what they were discussing. The entire management team of Zoom should be arrested and/or deported back to Soviet China. If you or your company are using Zoom, stop - stop it now and clean all traces of it from every PC and device you have.