Zoom says it will block certain users from meetings

The video communications platform Zoom is currently working on technology that will allow it to block certain users from meetings.

The move comes after the US-based firm faced criticism for shutting down the accounts of three prominent human rights activists who were trying to commemorate the anniversary of Tienanmen Square.

As reported by Forbes, Zoom shut down the meetings and suspended or terminated the host accounts after it discovered that people from mainland China were participating.

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The company has since admitted that it made a mistake by shutting down the meetings entirely as opposed to blocking participants by country.

Complying with local laws

Going forward, Zoom will not allow requests from the Chinese government to impact any of its users outside of mainland China.

In a blog post, the company provided further details on the technology it's developing to block meeting participants based on their geographic location, saying:

“Zoom is developing technology over the next several days that will enable us to remove or block at the participant level based on geography. This will enable us to comply with requests from local authorities when they determine activity on our platform is illegal within their borders; however, we will also be able to protect these conversations for participants outside of those borders where the activity is allowed.”

While Zoom's new technology will allow it to remove or block participants based on their location, its video conferencing software can still be accessed using a VPN.