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TECHNOLOGY Saturday 25 april 2020
Lots of companies now want your video chats -- even Facebook

loyalty. For others, the sud-
den influx of users — and
new ways of using their
tools — means new chal-
lenges.
Facebook says it will not
listen into video calls or re-
cord what people show or
tell. For this reason, should
a virtual date veer X-rated,
the company is unlikely
to step in unless someone
complains. Facebook says
it has no plans right now
to show ads on video calls
or use information from
them to target users with
ads. Of course, that could
change. q

In this April 23, 2020 file photo, members of the Vermont House of Representatives convene in a Zoom video conference for its first
full parliamentary online session in Montpelier, Vt.
Associated Press.
By BARBARA ORTUTAY two emojis for reacting to nounced, or schedule a we think about this," Zuck-
AP Technology Writer others in video — a wave dinner party for 8 p.m. on a erberg said.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — and a thumbs-up. Friday. People without with- While Facebook has en-
Amid the coronavirus pan- Smaller services like House- out Facebook accounts joyed a bit of a resurgence
demic, this has become an party, which launched in can be included, and the in usage amid the pan-
era of Zoom birthdays, vir- 2016, think this gives them company says they won't demic, it is not yet clear if
tual happy hours, FaceTime an opening. The app, have to create accounts that will stick if and when
story times and Google owned by Fortnite maker The tool will live on Face- people return to normal.
yoga classes. Our friends, Epic Games, lets up to eight book's main app and on "Even though Zoom has
coworkers, teachers — and people videochat together Messenger; it will eventually had a hilarious assortment
doctors, if we're lucky — in virtual rooms, send video spread to WhatsApp, Insta- of security issues, Facebook
now largely exist as faces in messages called "Face- gram Direct and the com- strikes us as even less trust-
rectangles on our phones mail" and play games. pany's Portal video calling worthy," said Carole Elaine
and computer screens. Houseparty said in late April device as well. Furr, an accountant in Rich-
With people's social lives that it had 50 million new "It's really nice because dur- mond, Vermont, who is a
moved indefinitely online, sign-ups in the past month ing this period when we are frequent Zoom user.
a bevy of big and small — a figure that's around all home, a lot of people Zoom's meteoric rise has
tech companies want to 70 times above normal in you probably won't call di- come with some growing
unseat fast-rising Zoom some areas. rectly," said Facebook CEO pains. Hackers have invad-
from its perch atop the Facebook's WhatsApp, Ap- Mark Zuckerberg, speak- ed meeting rooms to make
heap, given security con- ple's FaceTime and similar ing to The Associated Press threats, interject racist, anti-
cerns and other issues with Google apps offer group via a Messenger video call gay or anti-Semitic messag-
the video-calling service. video chat as well, al- from his home in Palo Alto, es, or show pornographic
There were already several though FaceTime is limited California. "There is not re- images, although the com-
smaller contenders for the to iPhones and other Apple ally another piece of soft- pany has taken steps to
throne, and now there's a devices. So do a variety ware out today that would prevent that. It also faced
big one as well: Facebook. of more business-focused create that kind of sponta- privacy concerns, such as
Zoom, which boasts 300 companies: Cisco with We- neous serendipity." an "attention tracking" fea-
million users, had the luck bEx, Microsoft with Skype Zuckerberg said Face- ture that Zoom eventually
to be in the right place at and Teams, and the smaller book had been working removed earlier this month.
the right time just as mil- company 8x8 with its open- on the service before the Zoom was also sued in Cali-
lions of employees around source service Jitsi. pandemic forced people fornia for sharing user data
the world suddenly found Now Facebook aims to around the world to confine with Facebook — another
themselves ordered to work make a bigger splash in the themselves in their homes. practice it now says it has
from home. But the service field, although it will have And he thinks the trend to- stopped.
has always been focused to contend with privacy ward video communica- The COVID-19 pandemic
on business users, and it concerns and the question tion will stay after it's over, has "rewritten the rules for
shows. Inviting people to of whether it will ultimately even if it is at an "unnatural interpersonal communica-
video chats is cumbersome show ads alongside video peak" right now. The com- tion," said Ian Greenblatt,
— for instance, Zoom gen- chat. Called Messenger pany is also expanding the managing director and
erates an invitation more Rooms, the Facebook ser- number of people who can head of the J.D. Power
than 20 lines long that offers vice announced Friday join WhatsApp video calls technology, media and
a bewildering number of uses virtual rooms similar to from four to eight and add- telecom intelligence busi-
ways to connect (H.323/SIP those that exist for text chat ing a "virtual" option to its ness. For some companies,
protocol, anyone?). Its text- within Messenger. These let dating service. he said, this could mean
chat system is rudimentary you open the door so your "Certainly having everyone a rare chance to build
and it gives people exactly friends can swing by unan- at home has shifted how awareness and consumer