Letter petition in SC seeks ban on ‘Zoom’ app for violation of right to privacy

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 18

Amid security concerns over the use of Zoom app, a letter petition addressed to Chief Justice of India SA Bobde has sought ban on it on the ground that it violated right to privacy of users.

Zoom – a video conferencing app—is being widely used during the COVID19 lockdown as millions of people are compelled to work from home. It’s also being used by students, schools, colleges and other educational institutions for online classes.

The use of Zoom app has put users’ data at risk, leading to mass violation of fundamental right to privacy, the letter petition written by Sanpreet Singh Ajmani and Aneesh Sharma said, urging the CJI to order a ban on its download and usage.

Since the app was not safe it could be used to exploit young children and their videos could be misused for illegal purposes, they submitted.

On April 12, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs had issued an advisory describing Zoom as unsafe app and prescribed steps to be followed by users to avoid any unpleasant experience.

If the MHA concluded that the app was not safe it should have completely banned it, the letter petition said.

Noting that business professionals were using Zoom for conducting meetings, the letter petition said the app was not safe and didn’t contain end-to-end encryption and users were getting suspicious mails.