LinkedIn allegedly shared user data for AI training without consent, according to the lawsuit

According to a lawsuit, LinkedIn secretly shared private conversations from Premium users with outside parties in order to train AI models.

LinkedIn is accused in a federal complaint filed in California of sharing Premium users’ private chats with outside parties in order to develop artificial intelligence (AI) models.

According to the complaint, the largest professional social networking site in the world, LinkedIn, covertly implemented a privacy option in August 2022 that opted users into a program that permitted the use of their data for AI training.

The Microsoft-owned business is also charged with hiding its previous acts by allegedly amending its privacy policy a month later to mention that user data may be shared for AI purposes.

According to the lawsuit, “LinkedIn’s actions… indicate a pattern of attempting to cover its tracks.” This action implies that LinkedIn intended to reduce public scrutiny and was fully aware that it had broken its contractual obligations and privacy standards.

In addition to damages for breach of contract and California’s unfair competition statute, the action, which was brought on behalf of a LinkedIn Premium member and others in like situations, wants $1,000 per user for claimed violations of the US federal Stored Communications Act.

“These are false claims with no merit,” said a LinkedIn representative in response to the allegations.

Additionally, according to the complaint, LinkedIn changed its frequently asked questions section to let users know that they might choose not to share their data with AI. But according to the report, LinkedIn also stated that the opt-out would not undo training that had already been finished with their data.

LinkedIn confirmed in a 2022 email to users that it had not permitted data exchange for AI purposes in Switzerland, the UK, or the European Economic Area.

In 2023, LinkedIn reported $1.7 billion in revenue from premium memberships, with over one billion users worldwide, over a quarter of whom are in the US. As the site incorporates more AI-driven capabilities, premium subscribers have also increased quickly.

Concerns over data usage openness are brought up by the case, particularly since tech corporations use personal data more and more to create AI systems.