To stop 'Zoom bombing' of court proceedings, Lake County officials ditch YouTube
This story has been updated from an earlier version which included incorrect information about Lake County court officials' use of the virtual meeting platform Zoom.
Looking to eliminate the “Zoom bombing” incidents that had disrupted several virtual court proceedings, Lake County officials have stopped streaming hearings over YouTube and switched to a new internal livestream platform.
So far the switch has worked, officials said.
“I'm staying hopeful this is the solution to the Zoom bombing we had before,” said Kasey Morgan, spokeswoman for the 19th Judicial Circuit.
Judges began holding court proceedings virtually over Zoom in late May because of the COVID-19 pandemic and livestreamed the hearings on a court YouTube page. Starting in August, uninvited participants on several occasions disrupted proceedings, at times displaying offensive materials, making loud noises and otherwise preventing the hearings from taking place, according to officials.
Court officials tried several possible solutions, but ultimately the court's judicial information systems team decided it was best to end the YouTube streams.
“It's an in-house centralized platform now,” Morgan said. “We have more control.”
The new system is entirely hosted on the court's website, which Morgan said offers several advantages.
“There's no comments section to worry about,” she said. “We don't have to worry about deleting the video once it's been streamed, and viewers can't rewind the feed.”
Morgan said some judges began using the new system last week and more will begin using it as this week goes on. There haven't been any disturbances reported since the switch, she said.
One important new security measure is that everyone trying to enter the Zoom session has to identify themselves by name and case number to gain access.
“Judges have stopped letting people in who don't identify themselves properly, and attorneys communicate with their clients on how to get logged in,” Morgan said.
To view virtual court hearings, visit 19thcircuitcourt.state.il.us and click Remote Court Hearings.