LinkedIn sued over privacy violations, data collection for AI models

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Karah Rucker Anchor

By Karah Rucker (Anchor), Kalé Carey (Reporter), Emma Stoltzfus (Video Editor)

LinkedIn users have filed a class action lawsuit in a California federal court, accusing the platform of harvesting their private messages to train artificial intelligence models without consent. They allege privacy laws were broken when the company shared their data with third parties.

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Alleged data harvesting for AI

LinkedIn, owned by Microsoft, is one of the world’s largest social media sites for professionals and hosts millions of users worldwide. The platform offers various premium services designed to help users network, find new employment opportunities and stand out in a crowded professional space.

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According to the lawsuit, the platform automatically shared users’ personal data with third parties without notifying them or seeking their permission. The plaintiffs claim this violates privacy rights and is a misuse of the data users entrust to the platform.

Privacy policy update sparks legal challenge

The lawsuit also alleges LinkedIn attempted to cover its tracks by updating its privacy policy in 2024. The revised policy included language that permitted the platform to harvest user data to develop products and services, including AI training.

While LinkedIn’s updated privacy policy allows users to opt out, the plaintiffs argue LinkedIn made these changes after the fact. LinkedIn’s FAQ page states users can opt out of the AI data usage. Still, the lawsuit contends that LinkedIn did not adequately communicate this information to users before the data harvesting.

LinkedIn’s premium subscription services, which offer enhanced features, have generated nearly $2 billion in revenue. The lawsuit seeks to recover a portion of that amount, with plaintiffs requesting $1,000 for each user whose privacy was allegedly violated, among other damages.

A spokesperson for LinkedIn has denied the allegations, calling the lawsuit “invalid” and without merit.

This lawsuit is not LinkedIn’s first legal challenge. Last year, the platform settled a class action lawsuit with advertisers who accused it of overcharging by falsifying video view counts.

[Karah Rucker]

LINKEDIN USERS ARE TAKING THE PLATFORM TO COURT OVER ALLEGED PRIVACY VIOLATIONS INVOLVING DATA HARVESTING… ACCUSING THE COMPANY OF USING THEIR PRIVATE MESSAGES TO TRAIN ITS AI ALGORITHMS—WITHOUT THEIR CONSENT.

THE MICROSOFT-OWNED COMPANY, KNOWN AS THE WORLD’S LARGEST PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING SITE, OFFERS PREMIUM SERVICES DESIGNED TO HELP USERS STAND OUT AMONG BILLIONS OF PROFILES.

BUT NOW, ONE USER CLAIMS LINKEDIN AUTOMATICALLY GAVE AWAY THEIR PERSONAL DATA TO THIRD PARTIES—WITHOUT ASKING FOR PERMISSION FIRST.

THE LAWSUIT, FILED IN A CALIFORNIA FEDERAL COURT ON BEHALF OF ALL PREMIUM USERS, ALLEGES LINKEDIN TRIED TO COVER ITS TRACKS BY UPDATING ITS PRIVACY POLICY LAST YEAR TO INCLUDE A CLAUSE ALLOWING ACCESS TO USER DATA FOR AI TRAINING.

WHILE GIVING PEOPLE THE OPTION TO OPT OUT, EXPLAINING IT ON THEIR FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS PAGE.

TAKING EFFECT IN THE LAST TWO MONTHS, LINKEDIN SAYS THEIR PRIVACY POLICY WAS UPDATED TO CLARIFY HOW PERSONAL DATA IS USED TO ‘HELP DEVELOP THE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES’ –INCLUDING GENERATIVE A-I

A SPOKESPERSON FOR LINKEDIN SAYS THE LAWSUIT IS BASED ON INVALID ALLEGATIONS WITHOUT MERIT.

LINKEDIN’S PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTIONS HAVE GENERATED NEARLY TWO BILLION DOLLARS IN REVENUE. THE LAWSUIT SEEKS TO RECOVER SOME OF THAT AMOUNT, ASKING FOR $1,000 FOR EACH USER WHOSE PRIVACY WAS ALLEGEDLY BREACHED.

JUST LAST YEAR, LINKEDIN SETTLED A CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT WITH ADVERTISERS WHO ACCUSED THE PLATFORM OF OVERCHARGING BY FALSIFYING VIDEO VIEW COUNTS.

FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS, I’M KARAH RUCKER