Zoom Shuts Down Chinese Activists

Zoom, the wildly successful video chat service that has been a very popular online destination during the COVID-19 pandemic, reported that it shut down three accounts at the request of the Chinese government for holding memorials for the victims of China's violent suppression of peaceful protests at Tiananmen Square on 4 June 1989.

As Axios first reported, the accounts of Lee Cheuk-Yan, Wang Dan and Zhou Fengsuo were closed down by the video communication service for planning and holding vigils and events to commemorate the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

According to Zoom's own timeline, the company was notified by the Chinese government about four large, June 4th commemoration meetings that were being publicized on social media. The Chinese government demanded that Zoom terminate the meetings and host accounts. Responding to the Chinese government's request Zoom determined that three of the four events included participants from mainland China and were distributing information or discussing events that were illegal under Chinese law.

Zoom shut down those meetings.

The company also suspended the host accounts, which were located in Hong Kong and the U.S.

In its statement, Zoom blamed the decision on the company's inability to block participants by country. "We could have anticipated this need," the company acknowledged.

To correct its error, Zoom said it would be "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."

Zoom attributed its decision to acquiesce to the Chinese government as a consequence of operating as an international company. "We hope that one day, governments who build barriers to disconnect their people from the world and each other will recognize that they are acting against their own interests, as well as the rights of their citizens and all humanity," the company wrote in its statement. "The reality is Zoom operates in more than 80 countries and continues to expand, which requires compliance with local laws even as Zoom seeks to promote the open exchange of ideas."