Career Social Networking Platform LinkedIn For allegedly sharing private information and user data to third parties for use in artificial intelligence (AI) training, which faces a class action lawsuit in the U.S. LinkedIn, which is owned by Microsoft, has gradually transformed itself into a comprehensive social media platform in recent years and has introduced a range of AI tools and features for LinkedIn Premium users.
The lawsuit alleges that LinkedIn "quietly" introduced a new privacy setting in August 2024, and that the lawsuit was not implemented.Sharing user data to third parties for AI training by default. The lawsuit filing states that LinkedIn updated its privacy policy after changing its privacy settings to clarify that user information can be used for AI training. At the same time, LinkedIn's Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section was changed to say that users can opt out of having their data shared with third parties for AI training, but that opting out won't affect data already used for AI training.
The lawsuit filing further alleges, "This conduct demonstrates that LinkedIn was fully aware that it was in breach of its contractual commitments and privacy standards and was attempting to minimize public scrutiny." The lawsuit seeks $1,000 (note: currently about Rs. 7,277) in damages from LinkedIn to each user for violations of the U.S. Stored Communications Act, as well as unspecified amounts for violations of California's Unfair Competition Law and breach of contract.
To which a LinkedIn spokesperson responded, "These allegations are baseless and false."
LinkedIn's privacy policy changes did not take effect for users in the UK, EEA and Switzerland, the BBC reports. This was made clear in an email sent to users last year.
It's worth noting that this isn't the first time LinkedIn has faced legal trouble. in 2024, LinkedIn settled a class action lawsuit for $6.625 million. The lawsuit accused LinkedIn of overcharging advertisers between January 2015 and May 2023 by artificially inflating the number of views of video ads.