Porn ‘Zoombombing’ Of Bible Study Class Triggers Lawsuit

SAN JOSE, CA — Zoom Video Communications Inc. said Thursday that it is "deeply upset" about a so-called "Zoombombing" in which a San Francisco church's Bible study class was disrupted by pornographic videos.

The San Jose-based videoconferencing company's statement came in response to a lawsuit filed in federal court in San Jose Wednesday by the Saint Paulus Lutheran Church and administrator Heddi Cundle, describing a May 6 class held via Zoom for eight students, most of whom were senior citizens.

During the class, a hacker using the name of "Christine (iPad)" hijacked the students' computer screens, disabled their control buttons and played "sick and sickening" pornographic videos depicting both adults and children, according to the lawsuit. When the students tried to terminate the session and restart the class, the hacker attacked again, and the group had to end the class.

The lawsuit says, "The depravity of the video footages was beyond description. Ms. Cundle and the other participants were traumatized and deeply disturbed."

Zoom stated, "We were deeply upset to hear about this incident, and our hearts go out to those impacted by this horrific event. Words cannot express how strongly we condemn such behavior." The statement continues, "On the same day we learned of this incident, we identified the offender, took action to block their access to the platform and reported them to relevant authorities.

"We encourage users to report any incidents of this kind either to Zoom so we can take appropriate action or directly to law enforcement authorities," Zoom said.

The lawsuit lodges claims of negligence, breach of implied contract, unjust enrichment and unfair business practices against San Jose-based Zoom for its alleged failure to provide adequate security.

It also accuses Zoom of violating privacy laws and other statutes by allegedly disclosing users' personal information to third parties. It asks for an injunction against Zoom and for financial compensation, including a punitive damages award, and seeks to be certified as a class action on behalf of all Zoom users.

At least a dozen other consumer lawsuits, several of which also seek to be certified as class actions, have been filed against Zoom in federal court in San Jose since March 30. Most have been assigned to U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh.

The church's lawsuit acknowledges that when Cundle contacted Zoom immediately after the May 6 Zoombombing, the company's Trust & Safety Department responded that day by email and said it had identified the intruder as "a known serial offender who disrupts open meetings by showing the same video, and which has been reported multiple times to the authorities."

The email said Zoom had blocked the offender from joining any future meetings using the same Zoom software, according to the lawsuit.

But the lawsuit says, "It is baffling, to say the least, how Zoom failed to protect Saint Paulus's Bible-study class from a 'serial offender' who has been 'reported multiple times to the authorities.'"

The use of Zoom for meetings, classes and get-togethers has soared in the wake of stay-at-home orders in the coronavirus pandemic.

Zoom noted in the statement that it has recently upgraded its security features. It said it encourages meeting hosts not to share meeting IDs and passwords broadly online.

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