New York City’s Department of Education is banning the use of Zoom for online learning classes and is recommending Microsoft Teams instead, according to The Washington Post.

  • The department, which runs the country’s largest school district, cited security concerns with Zoom. The video conferencing app is seeing huge demand amid the COVID-19 outbreak but is also facing plenty of backlash due to security and privacy gaps.
  • The move to Teams is a boon for Microsoft, which is also seeing increased usage of its chat, collaboration and video conferencing app. Teams saw its daily active user count rise more than 37 percent during just one week last month, from 32 million to 44 million users around the world.
  • Edmonds School District in the Seattle region sent a letter to parents about Zoom security concerns, noting that it was modifying access settings and deactivating video by default.
  • Districts across the country are grappling with how to continue remote education amid school closures due to the COVID-19 outbreak. NPR called it the “biggest distance-learning experiment in history.” Security is not the only concern; equity issues are also top of mind.
  • Update: Here’s a statement from Zoom: “Zoom’s ease of use and ability to handle significant increased demand without service disruption have made it the platform of choice for tens of thousands of schools, universities and others around the world as they work to stay connected and operational during this unprecedented global health crisis. We are proud of the role we are playing during this challenging time and proactively engaging to make sure schools and other new users understand how to best use the platform. Zoom is committed to providing educators with the tools and resources they need on a safe and secure platform, and we are in continued dialogue with NYC’s Department of Education about how Zoom can be of service during this time.”
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