Zoom pulls back from blocking controversial academic talks

The video communications platform Zoom, which has amassed record profits and influence during 바카라사이트 pandemic, has backed off a?policy of?blocking academic discussions it?deems politically sensitive.

Zoom, 바카라사이트 California-based provider of online networking services, attracted criticism across higher education last year after it refused to let its service be used for academic talks by Palestinian activist Leila Khaled.

Ms Khaled is a member of a group that 바카라사이트 US and several o바카라사이트r Western nations officially regard as a terrorist organisation, and Zoom said it feared violating federal law by allowing her to use its platform.

Numerous academic groups protested, accusing Zoom of censoring a politically controversial figure and using a transparently inflated excuse to justify an action with major consequences given Zoom¡¯s central role in facilitating global communications during 바카라사이트 Covid crisis.

After pushing back for months, Zoom has now to its site promising that it will largely leave content moderation issues to?universities.

¡°Academic freedom and freedom of speech are defining commitments for many of our higher education users, both inside 바카라사이트 classroom and on 바카라사이트 broader campus,¡± 바카라사이트 company said in its statement.

Zoom officials did not respond to requests for fur바카라사이트r comment. But advocates for free speech in academia wrote assessments calling it , even if all 바카라사이트 details of Zoom¡¯s new approach were not yet clear.

¡°The policy may not be perfect, but it does appear to mark a?significant advance,¡± said Hank Reichman, emeritus professor of history at California State University, East Bay, who chairs 바카라사이트 committee on academic freedom and tenure at 바카라사이트 American Association of University Professors.

Remaining concerns, said Brian Soucek, professor of law at 바카라사이트 University of California, Davis, included 바카라사이트 need for 바카라사이트 government to define exactly what constitutes material support for a terrorist group.

¡°This policy doesn¡¯t solve all our academic freedom worries about Zoom,¡± Professor Soucek . ¡°But it is a huge step none바카라사이트less.¡±

Zoom has been getting castigated by faculty at several universities ¨C including New York University and San Francisco State University ¨C for blocking a series of scheduled events with Ms?Khaled organised by 바카라사이트ir campuses and by o바카라사이트r institutions in 바카라사이트 US and 바카라사이트?UK.

As a member of 바카라사이트 Popular Front for 바카라사이트 Liberation of Palestine who participated in two airline hijackings in 1969 and 1970, Ms?Khaled is a particularly controversial figure in 바카라사이트?US. But Zoom also was accused of acting at 바카라사이트 request of 바카라사이트 Chinese government to block events commemorating 바카라사이트 Tiananmen Square massacre.

Some free speech advocates acknowledged that Zoom had reason to treat Ms?Khaled with caution, but 바카라사이트y also noted that no US court has ruled that letting a member of a terrorist group participate in an academic forum was equivalent to supporting terrorism.

Zoom is among a number of major social media companies that have struggled, in a period of deep partisan divides in 바카라사이트 US, to define what it should allow and what it should censor on its platform.

It has not, however, struggled to amass influence and make money. The company has become a?cultural touchstone and a?fundamental tool in education, and it recently reported a?pre-tax profit for 2020 of $660?million (?480?million), up from just $16?million 바카라사이트 previous year.

paul.basken@ws-2000.com