Many of us, sheltered in place, are using video and web-conferencing services such as Zoom. How fortunate we are, to have such tools at our disposal.

While keeping physically healthy, here are three tips for staying legally healthy in your web-conferencing environment.

  1. Don’t play music or display visual art in the background. The last thing you or your company needs is a lawsuit for copyright infringement, on top of everything else you’re dealing with.
  2. Be mindful of your obligations under data privacy and protection laws. These conferences can be recorded. That means, information as to which you have duties of protection can end up being stored on the service provider’s servers. (Not to mention, Employee’s spouse is probably looking over Employee’s shoulder as your conference takes place in their kitchen!) Without thoughtful planning you could easily run afoul of nondisclosure agreements; data-related laws; and even claims you’ve made in your own privacy policies.
  3. Read the terms of service. Yup, the whole thing. You’re entering into a contract with the conferencing service provider, and that contract was drafted to protect the provider, not you. Understand your obligations and potential liabilities, and develop company-wide policies to protect your organization.