hijacked,” he added. For instance, a virtual casting call for black actors, a meeting between minority students and lecturers to discuss racism in universities, and a series of online talks about the aftermath of George Floyd’s death were targeted on Zoom. Another Zoom event with speakers from White Coats for Black Lives, an organisation of BAME medical students tackling racism within the US’s healthcare system, was hijacked.
Lydia Amoah, a diversity specialist, was a target of a racially-motivated cyber-attack during a webinar with 100 of her colleagues, clients and industry experts in April. “I felt sick for five days after the hackers attacked. I felt so unsafe online, where I have no choice but to work [...] Even now I feel hot [and] defenseless, they could see me but I couldn’t see them.” Amoah is now advising businesses and other companies on how to deal with racism in the virtual workspace. Her new policy, the STOPIT Protocol, offers businesses a step-by-step guide on how to protect workers online, and has already been implemented by some UK charities and organisations.
Color of Change has been in contact with Zoom and has asked the company to release a specific plan to combat racial harassment on the platform and apologise to targets of Zoom bombings, but Lydia believes responsibility also lies with employers who have not taken measures to protect minorities in the virtual workspace. “The first step is sharing our stories, the next is for companies to start implementing real and lasting policies that will protect all of their users.”
(Adapted from aljazeera.com)