LinkedIn Faces Lawsuit Over Alleged Use of Private Messages for AI Training
LinkedIn, the professional networking platform owned by Microsoft, is facing a class-action lawsuit filed in California. The lawsuit alleges that LinkedIn disclosed private messages from its Premium subscribers to third parties without obtaining proper consent, using this data to train generative artificial intelligence (AI) models.
According to the complaint, in August 2024, LinkedIn introduced a privacy setting that automatically opted Premium users into sharing their personal data for AI training purposes. This change was reportedly implemented without explicit user consent or adequate notification. Following public backlash, LinkedIn updated its privacy policy in September 2024 to include provisions for AI model training data usage. However, the lawsuit contends that this update was an attempt to conceal prior unauthorized data sharing.
The plaintiffs argue that LinkedIn's actions violate the Stored Communications Act, breach contractual agreements, and infringe upon California's competition laws. They are seeking damages of $1,000 per affected user, along with additional compensation for the alleged violations.
In response to the allegations, a LinkedIn spokesperson stated that the claims are false and without merit.