Is Zoom Good Enough for Mediation?
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So where does that leave we mediators? We can obviously mediate by teleconference or some hybrid of one of the other online video services and teleconference.
For me though, having read all I can get my hands on and discussing the issues with others, I have come to the conclusion that, properly used, Zoom is safe enough – not perfect – but safe enough for use in the vast majority of commercial mediations.
I suggest that “proper use” includes the following:
- Using a unique and private meeting number for each mediation.
- Requiring participants to use a password to enter the meeting.
- Warning participants to keep their meeting link and password secure.
- For the time being avoid the use of the Waiting Room function in light of The Citizen Lab’s claim of a serious security issue related to that function.
- Locking the mediation meeting once all participants have joined using the “lock” function available to the meeting host.
- Advising participants against accessing the meeting via a public network and to satisfy themselves as to the security of the private network they’re using.
- Requiring participants to access the meeting using the latest version of the Zoom client software and not use a web browser for that purpose. This point is necessarily provisional given The Citizen Lab speculation that the browser plugin may have some marginally better security properties, as data transmission occurs over TLS.
- Amend our Mediation Agreements to cover points uniquely related to video mediation.
It will be interesting to see how this issue will evolve in the coming days and weeks. Plaintiffs and defendants have a mutual interest in getting cases resolved sooner rather than later. Mediators have an interest in helping them do just that. Zoom, to date, has proven to be a reliable and robust tool to help everyone achieve these interests. Privacy and confidentiality are integral to the mediation process but proportionality needs to factor in as well. Not every mediation requires “Manhattan Project” level security.
One can only hope that this won’t be another example of “the perfect being the enemy of the good”. For me, aware of these issues, I will continue to offer Zoom mediations.
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