{UAH} Facebook and Google are Gunning for Zoom.

If there's one company the pandemic has turned into a household name, it's Zoom. Amid the continued state lockdowns, the video conferencing platform has become a lifeline for schools and businesses and a gathering place for virtual cocktail hours, birthday parties, workout classes and even weddings. And that hasn't escaped the notice of some of the world's biggest technology companies, including Facebook and Google.  

The two tech giants are now gunning for Zoom by ramping up their own group video apps, raising questions about whether they'll be able to successfully eat Zoom's lunch by leveraging the immense advantages they hold in scale and existing user loyalty. The added competition will also test whether Zoom has done enough to allay the privacy concerns that cropped up as its service was taking off.

Facebook last week announced a new service it's callingMessenger Rooms, which doesn't require a Facebook account and allows up to 50 people to meet virtually for as long as they like. This week, Google said its video conferencing tool for businesses,Google Meet, will now be free to everyone with an email address — allowing up to 100 people to meet for as long as they like. By comparison, Zoom'sfree tierallows 100 people to meet for up to 40 minutes at a time.

Facebook Messenger already had video chat functionality, but it was limited both in the total number of people allowed to participate and also in its requirement that all of them have a Facebook account.

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"When a man is stung by a bee, he doesn't set off to destroy all beehives"

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