Govt likely to ban Zoom app, SC gives notice

New Delhi:  Supreme Court has sought a response from the centre on a plea seeking ban on video conferencing app Zoom until the formulation of a proper legislation. A three-judge bench headed Chief Justice SA Bobde issued a notice to Centre and Zoom on the plea. The Centre needs to come up with a response within four weeks.

The petitioner, Harsh Chugh, argued that software application is not safe and does not include end-to-end encryption. As a result, it is violating the Information Technology Act 2000 and Information Technology Rules, 2009.

“The reliefs which are sought in the present petition are urgent in view of the penetration of offending software increasing with each day and as the concern raised in the present petition have pan-India ramifications” the plea read.

The plea added that the software application is a threat to individual privacy. Even Zoom had accepted that the data of several users across India were leaked from the app and apologised publicly. The petitioner said that software application is prone to hacking and cyber breaches.

In a statement, Zoom said, “Zoom takes user privacy, security and trust extremely seriously. We have been focused on enhancing our commitment to security and privacy under our 90-day plan announced on April 1, and have made significant progress.”