Video-conferencing company Zoom Video Communications, Inc. is permanently suspending the direct sale of its products to customers in mainland China. The company said Monday those customers would be able to use its video conferencing services by using platforms from its third-party China partners only.
The California-based company said on its website customers in China won't be able to purchase subscriptions or upgrade existing products starting Aug. 23. The company advised customers to contact its local partners if they needed a similar service.
Zoom said it would shift operations in China to a partner-only model. This means its underlying technology will still be available but only through local partners. Zoom said customers should be able to get better local support when needed.
A company representative said users in China could still join Zoom meetings but only as participants. Users in the country will no longer be able to register as corporate customers, which means that they won't be unable to host meetings.
Zoom has become the target of criticism in the U.S. because of lapses in its own platform security. The company admitted earlier in the year it had routed some online meetings through servers in China. This led to some politicians calling the company a potential security threat that may be used by China to spy on its citizens.
In June the company shut down the account of an activist using its platform to spread anti-China propaganda. Zoom denied the move was in response to a request from the China government.
Zoom's alleged ties to China's government have recently been questioned because of a regulatory filing statement that said most of its development team was based in China. The loyalty of its founder, American citizen Eric Yuan, was questioned because he is an immigrant from China.
Zoom is one of the latest targets of U.S. politicians hunting down companies with links to China. Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to ban the popular short-video streaming app TikTok, which is owned by China technology company ByteDance.
