A data protection watchdog in Germany has warned the Hamburg Senate Chancellery to avoid using Zoom because its video conferencing software is now incompatible with the EU's GDPR. In a new press release from Ulrich Kühn, Hamburg's acting commissioner for data protection and freedom of information warned members of the German government against using the on-demand version of Zoom, as The Register reported. In his speech to government officials, Kühn refers to the Schrems II decision of the European Court of Justice that prevents EU companies from transferring data to non-European companies. He goes on to claim that the use of Zoom violates the GDPR because the software transmits personal data to the United States. In July last year, the EU Court of Justice struck down the Privacy Shield data protection agreement between the EU and the United States, causing a great deal of legal confusion for EU companies working with companies in the United States. Joined.
Zoom and GDPR
In an article about data transfers from the EU to the US, Zoom explains that it will sign Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) with customers in Europe and take additional security measures to protect your data in a standards-compliant way. provided for by the GDPR. While this is likely to work for most companies in the EU, Kühn noted that government organizations in Germany already have access to Dataport's video conferencing systems that are fully compliant with EU data protection laws, making it which includes stating: “At FHH, all employees have access to a proven video conferencing tool that does not have any issues with transmission to third countries. As a core service provider, Dataport also provides additional video conferencing systems in its own data centers. These are used successfully in other countries such as Schleswig-Holstein. Therefore, we do not understand why the Chancellery of the Senate insists on an additional and legally very problematic system ”. The fact that Zoom is easy to use and quick to launch could be one of the reasons why members of the Hamburg Senate Chancellery have made it their video conferencing solution of choice despite having access to video conferencing systems. from Dataport. TechRadar Pro has contacted Zoom about this and a company spokesperson made the following statement: “Zoom is proud to work with the city of Hamburg and many other leading German organisations, companies and educational institutions. The privacy and security of our users is a priority at Zoom, and we take the trust our users place in us very seriously. Zoom is committed to complying with all applicable privacy laws, rules and regulations in the jurisdictions in which it operates, including the GDPR. through registration