Is Zoom the Next Huawei? ‘Puppet of Chinese,’ Say Critics
Zoom has been closing accounts of U.S. residents who are critical of the Chinese Communist Party. Specifically, accounts hosting discussions of China’s 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre and of China’s 2020 aspirations in Hong Kong.
Activists remind Zoom users and investors that the NASDAQ-listed company doesn’t really look like a U.S. firm: At least 30% of Zoom’s engineers are in China, and the company’s CEO was born in China—with family still living there, subject to the whims of the CCP.
“Boycott Zoom,” critics cry. In today’s SB Blogwatch, we can’t find the unmute button.
Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment. Not to mention: MLchoonz.
$ZM PR FAIL (yet again)
What’s the craic? Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian reports—“Zoom closed account of U.S.-based Chinese activist”:
Zoom has faced growing scrutiny over security concerns and its ties to China. … A Zoom spokesperson confirmed [Zhou Fengsuo’s] account had been closed “to comply with local law” and said it had now been re-activated.
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A second Zoom account belonging to a pro-democracy activist, Lee Cheuk Yan, a former Hong Kong politician and pro-democracy activist, was also closed in late May. Lee has also received no response from Zoom.
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This suggests Zoom closed the account due to concerns in China, which forbids free discussion of the 1989 Tiananmen pro-democracy movement. … Chinese pro-democracy activists and dissidents face harassment and surveillance even beyond China’s borders.
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The company has acknowledged that much of its product development has been based in China, and that some Zoom calls were accidentally routed through Chinese servers. … Zoom CEO Eric Yuan said in early June that the company has chosen not to end-to-end encrypt free calls in order to cooperate with law enforcement.
Wait, what? Owen Churchill adds—“Zoom closes account of US-based Chinese dissidents”:
The paid Zoom account the group set up for the event had been disabled, says activist Zhou Fengsuo [who] called the account interruption “outrageous”: “I’m very angry of course, that even … in the United States … we have to be prepared for this kind of censorship.”
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A statement from Zoom, which is accessible from within China without a VPN, suggested that it had taken the action because participants joining the conference from China had violated “local laws.” … The company did not respond to requests to elaborate on what laws had been broken and whether it had decided to disable the account after being contacted by Chinese authorities.
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Following the disabling of the account, its owners contacted Zoom to demand an explanation and to push the company to refund their payment or reinstate the account. … Zoom did not respond.
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Speakers [at the event] included Zhang Xianling, a member of Tiananmen Mothers, a group of human rights activists led by mothers of protesters believed to have died in the crackdown. [She said] she remained under close surveillance and followed by police officers whenever “sensitive days” arrived, including June 4.
And it’s not just Tiananmen. Gerry Shih brings—“Zoom censors video talks on Hong Kong”:
Several prominent critics of the Chinese government, including protest leaders in Hong Kong and pro-democracy activists in the United States, have accused Zoom of shutting their accounts and severing live events in recent weeks under pressure from Beijing. [It’s] reviving concerns about the … company’s susceptibility to Chinese government influence weeks after the firm began facing scrutiny over security, including its routing of data through China.
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On June 3, a separate Tiananmen commemoration was severed after the Zoom account that hosted it was deactivated midstream … said one of the organizers, former Tiananmen student protest leader Wang Dan, who is based in Washington. [And] Lee Cheuk-yan, a union leader and Labour Party figure in Hong Kong, said a Zoom account he used to host talks was shut down without explanation … 30 minutes before he was scheduled to stream a talk by … a leading Hong Kong pro-democracy activist. … His Zoom account remains disabled.
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In a statement, Zoom said it was obliged to respond to requests from Chinese authorities as long as users in China participated in videoconferences. … “We regret that a few recent meetings with participants both inside and outside of China were negatively impacted and important conversations were disrupted. It is not in Zoom’s power to change the laws of governments opposed to free speech.”
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Although [Chinese] security agencies and censors routinely snuff out discussion and commemoration of the [Tiananmen Square] incident, which posed an existential threat to the Communist Party … there is no Chinese law that explicitly bans vigils and commemorations of an event that has effectively been erased from official public discourse. … Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular press briefing Thursday that she was not aware of attempts to shut down Zoom meetings.
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Chen Yunfei, a Chinese dissident in the city of Chengdu, delivered a video address at [Zhou’s] event. A day later, he was detained by police and locked in a hotel room for five days, a common form of punishment known as “soft detention.” … “Zoom is acquiescing to an oppressive and inhumane government,” Chen said.
Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Pascal Monett is, and tentatively raises a hand:
Um, question: How did Zoom know what was being discussed?
Does Zoom retain a recording of everything said in meetings on their servers?
So GameboyRMH moves that thought one step further:
Zoom has even basically admitted that moving E2E encryption capability to paid accounts only was for the purpose of policing content. And this is one form of content policing they must do to maintain access to the Chinese market.
Don’t like it? Self-host.
Where are the ZM-long bulls? Tedrez self-identifies as a shareholder:
Zoom should be boycotted until they at least apologise appropriately for this, and explain what happened, and the corrective actions actions taken. … They should also provide at least a token financial compensation to the group whose meetings were impacted, and provide a clear explanation what ‘local laws’ they felt were impacted.
Nevertheless, the anonymous Hong Kong protesters behind 港民國際連橫—@HKGlobalConnect—read between the lines:
If that’s what “any global company” would do, does that mean all social media platforms that are not allowed in China should shut down all Chinese accounts to “comply with local law”?
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The fact that Zhou was US-based suggests that this argument was made up afterwards.
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This negates any previous attempts by Zoom and [its CEO] Eric S. Yuan to fix security flaws and distance themselves from Chinese surveillance and the PRC government. #BoycottZoom
Wait. Pause. Tolvor offers this (ahem) “unpopular” viewpoint:
Twitter shadowbans conservatives and issues a “warning” label on president Trump’s tweets: … “Twitter is a private company, and can do what they want.”
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Zoom blocks Chinese activists: … “They are a private company and have a duty to unbiased service.”
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If what is done to president Trump and conservatives is fair, then what Zoom is doing is fair. … If not, please explain the difference.
Okay, try this demolition of whatabout—KTRU CHRIS says Zoom is part of the problem (because Zoom is not part of the solution):
Bye-bye Zoom. I teach high school world history and I have a choice of platforms. If Zoom cannot support freedom, why should I use Zoom?
Chinese lives and rights matter. … What is the true cost of the cheap goods we buy from China? China’s record on human rights, pollution, Hong Kong, ethnic rights, treatment of its Muslim minority, and … of non-state sanctioned religious groups are deplorable.
And here come the 50-cent army trolls. For example, MacroHedge:
Somehow the story is too fishy. It makes literally no sense.
Maybe the guy didn’t pay for the premium service? Or it is a PR stunt?
Meanwhile, Four Avenues predicts this poetic prediction:
Zoom is an MSS (Chinese Intelligence) product [that] will go the way of Huawei
And Finally:
Machine-learning sing-song ding-dong
You have been reading SB Blogwatch by Richi Jennings. Richi curates the best bloggy bits, finest forums, and weirdest websites … so you don’t have to. Hate mail may be directed to @RiCHi or [email protected]. Ask your doctor before reading. Your mileage may vary. E&OE. 30.
Image sauce: Steve Cadman (cc:by-sa)
