What is the official way to set up Zoom accounts

[marc.brejcha]

Hi all,

This might have been answered in a previous message but I need some help setting up things for our stake / ward. I am an assistant stake tech specialist and am aware of the zoom meeting option we can get through the church. My question is what is the best way to set this up to be a long term sustainable solution as we will all be released one day from our positions?

I know one thing wards have done was to create themselves a "ward email" using the free YahooMail, Google, and Outlook services. To my understanding, this is technically violating the terms and services agreement with the major providers (looked at both GMail and Outlook). Signing up for the free account is for personnel use only and must be tied to an individual (link below).

I know we can get Gmail accounts from the church itself. Is that the best option then? Has there been guidance from the Church on this? When I created one, it made a marc.brejcha@meet.churchofjesuschrist.org instead of Latwon1stWard@meet.churchofjesuschrist.org. If not, is there a hotline number I can call?

Thanks in advance!

Microsoft: 4.a.i - If you create a Microsoft account on behalf of an entity, such as your business or employer, you represent that you have the legal authority to bind that entity to these Terms. You cannot transfer your Microsoft account credentials to another user or entity. To protect your account, keep your account details and password confidential. You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your Microsoft account.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/servicesagreement

Google: Using Google services on behalf of an organization
Many organizations, such as businesses, non-profits, and schools, take advantage of our services. To use our services on behalf of an organization:
an authorized representative of that organization must agree to these terms
your organization’s administrator may assign a Google Account to you. That administrator might require you to follow additional rules and may be able to access or disable your Google Account.

https://policies.google.com/terms?hl=en-US#toc-using

[russellhltn]

Signing up for the free account is for personnel use only and must be tied to an individual (link below).

That's not how I'm interpreting the sections you quoted. I'm seeing that such use is allowed, but the terms must be agreed to by someone in the organization with sufficient authority to allow the entity to be bound by the TOS. Likewise, the prohibition of transfer is between entities, not necessarily a prohibition between individuals staffing the same calling in the same unit.

So, the question becomes, who in the church can make that commitment? I can't find a specific citation for email accounts, but I will note that at internet.churchofjesuschrist.org that "local priesthood leaders" must approve the creation of social media accounts. Those accounts will also have a TOS. As such, it appears that the church considers local priesthood leaders to have the authority to create accounts for their units.

At least that's my personal, unofficial, non-authoritative, and not-a-lawyer interpretation of what you've quoted.