The end-to-end encryption feature will not be offered to free users, Zoom’s CEO said, in case Zoom needed to comply with federal and local law enforcement.

Security experts are up in arms after learning that video conferencing app Zoom will only offer end-to-end encryption to paid users.

On Zoom’s Wednesday first-quarter financial earnings call, Zoom CEO Eric Yuang said that the upcoming end-to-end encryption feature would not apply for free users. Alex Stamos, former CIO at Facebook, who is currently working as an advisor for Zoom, then defended this policy in a recent Twitter thread, explaining that Zoom is juggling a “balancing act.” On the one hand, Zoom wants to offer the extended privacy feature for its users, he said. But on the other hand, the platform still needs to be able to work with federal and local law enforcement to reduce abuse, such as Zoom bombing, he said.

“Zoom is dealing with some serious safety issues,” Stamos said on Wednesday. “When people disrupt meetings (sometimes with hate speech, [child sex-abuse material] CSAM, exposure to children and other illegal behaviors) that can be reported by the host. Zoom is working with law enforcement on the worst repeat offenders.”

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