Like many others, we have been using the video conferencing app Zoom during the coronavirus crisis, linking up face to face with family and friends. We have had a number of virtual coffee mornings and dinner parties with friends from our walking club in Spain and UK , and have also linked up with my Siblings in UK, France and USA.
However, there have been a number of concerns about Zoom with it’s alledged lax security, making it vulnerable to hackers, enabling them to “Zoombomb” meetings; ie trolls entering public meetings and broadcasting stuff like pornography or unpleasant Nazi material to the rest of the room.
A South Somerset District Council meeting held using Zoom video call technology was nearly suspended after it was trolled with obscene adult content. The council’s area south committee met on Wednesday afternoon (April 8) to discuss road improvements being made as part of plans for 800 homes in southern Yeovil.
But the meeting almost had to be suspended early on after a number of individuals disrupted proceedings with rude words and images. On at least one occasion, adult content could be heard playing in the background while members of the public’s microphones were on (they were subsequently muted en masse). And one user shared an image of two men kissing in the middle of a presentation of improvements planned for one of Yeovil’s roundabouts.
Data source for full report : https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/adult-content-zoom-council-meeting-4032737
Interestingly, Parliament will be using Zoom technology when it returns as a “hybrid” House of Commons, with 50 MPs in the Chamber following strict social distancing rules, joined by a further 120 MPs taking part in proceedings at any one time, via Zoom video link.
This is despite a number of security concerns, not least about user data being routed through China, or MPs personal email addresses being leaked to other users. A number of large Companies, Cities and Countries have banned the use of Zoom.
These historic measures will still need the approval of MPs when they return from Easter recess on 21 April.
Data source : https://order-order.com/2020/04/16/hybrid-virtual-parliament-use-zoom-despite-security-concerns/
I wonder why they didn’t consider using the House Party app ??
In the same vein, hundreds of social media posts have been devoted to naming the generation of children born following the pandemic – popular choices include Coronials, Quaranteens and Baby Zoomers, named after the video-conferencing application Zoom.
Data source : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/09/sex-toy-sales-triple-during-new-zealands-coronavirus-lockdown
