California: As businesses, schools, churches and others turn to video conference platforms to stay connected amid the global coronavirus pandemic, many have reported being attacked by uninvited guests.
The disruptions, dubbed "Zoom-bombing," have included racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic messages and have drawn the scrutiny of the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.
Experts say some of the Zoom-bombing incidents can be attributed to internet trolls who operate without malicious intent. However, extremists have already seized on the coronavirus pandemic as a vehicle to spread their hate and conspiracies.
In response to criticism, Zoom has clarified its privacy policy. But some say the company isn't doing enough to protect users' safety.
As the Rev. Laura Everett delivered a sermon via Zoom for Boston's First Baptist Church, users who had seen the church service advertised entered the video conferencing session and shouted homophobic and racist slurs. Everett said she had tweeted the link to the sermon because she wanted "the doors of the church to be open to every weary soul who is looking for a word of comfort."
"To be met with racist and hateful anti-LGBT slurs was profoundly distressing," said Everett, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Council of Churches. "Zoom is the business that is providing the service that I am paying for. And therefore, it is their primary responsibility to make sure that the children, the elders, the vulnerable communities that are using their product are not being subjected to hate speech."