New York City鈥檚 education department has banned schools from using the videoconference platform Zoom, following reports nationwide of educators鈥� sessions being hacked and disrupted.
The city鈥檚 directive, first reported by , urges schools and their employees to transition to Microsoft Teams as quickly as possible.
Eric Yuan, CEO of Zoom, on Sunday that the company is still in touch with New York City schools and is working on addressing privacy and security concerns. 鈥淲e made some missteps,鈥� he said.
The district鈥檚 decision is likely to create more headaches for school employees who have been hurrying to keep students learning remotely during the coronavirus pandemic. But it may come as a relief to privacy advocates who have been sounding the alarm about Zoom since before the outbreak hit.
鈥淲hat [New York City鈥檚 schools chancellor] should do now is negotiate a contract with Zoom tthat complies with state law and protects student privacy, and train teachers on how to use this app and other apps in a more responsible manner,鈥� said Leonie Haimson, executive director of the nonprofit Class Size Matters and a student privacy expert.
Details of what happens behind the scenes with data from the videoconferencing platform continue to emerge. The Washington Post on Friday that hundreds of archived public Zoom meetings are posted publicly online. The New York Times that some users were able to access identifying LinkedIn profile details about other users without their knowledge or consent. More than two dozen state attorneys general about issues with Zoom.
Schools across the country are evaluating their relationship with Zoom, and several other districts, including Clark County in Nevada, have asked employees not to use Zoom. Other districts, like Conejo Unified in California, are sharing with teachers and staff.
Virtual school board and classroom meetings in numerous states have been interrupted by 鈥淶oombombers"鈥攈ackers, including some teenagers, who post pornographic, racist, offensive or comedic imagery in an attempt to sow chaos and shut chat rooms down.
Advocates have also raised questions about the extent to which Zoom collects and shares data, a particularly sensitive issue for students using the platform for the first time to communicate with teachers.