A new lawsuit has been filed in a California federal court against LinkedIn, alleging that the company improperly shared users' private messages to train artificial intelligence models. The lawsuit, representing a LinkedIn Premium user along with "all others" similarly situated, accuses LinkedIn of violating privacy rights by disclosing personal data without adequate user consent. This legal challenge comes amidst growing concerns about data privacy and the ethical use of AI technologies.
The lawsuit claims LinkedIn quietly introduced a privacy setting in August last year that automatically opted users into a program allowing third parties to access their personal data for AI training. Users were reportedly not informed about this change, which the lawsuit argues is part of a broader scheme by LinkedIn to obscure its data-sharing practices. In supporting these allegations, the lawsuit states, "LinkedIn's actions… indicate a pattern of attempting to cover its tracks."
Adding to the controversy, LinkedIn allegedly modified its 'frequently asked questions' section to inform users that they could opt out of data sharing for AI purposes. However, it also stated that opting out would not reverse any training already conducted. A month later, the company purportedly altered its privacy policy to explicitly permit the disclosure of user information for AI training purposes, further fueling concerns about transparency and user consent.
LinkedIn, owned by Microsoft, has denied these allegations, with a spokesperson describing them as "false claims with no merit." Despite this denial, the lawsuit continues to press forward, seeking damages and other relief for the alleged privacy violations.
The lawsuit highlights an email sent by LinkedIn last year, which assured users in the UK, the European Economic Area, and Switzerland that their data had not been shared for AI purposes. This regional exemption raises questions about the company's global data handling practices and its compliance with varying international privacy laws.