LinkedIn has been sued in the United States for allegedly feeding personal messages to AI models. It is also under fire in Europe.
A complaint was filed Tuesday against LinkedIn on behalf of “millions of Premium” users, Reuters writes. The social media platform is under fire for allegedly using personal information and messages to train AI models without properly seeking consent. LinkedIn denies the allegations.
Erasing traces
Prosecutors accuse LinkedIn of obtaining users’ personal information unlawfully and very deviously. Users are fooled with disguised privacy settings. For example, LinkedIn allegedly quietly added a privacy setting in August that requires users to opt out of AI training. LinkedIn is betting heavily on developing AI features, but to do so it needs data.
read also
Find a job thanks to AI: ‘Seven people are hired every minute through LinkedIn’
LinkedIn then allegedly discreetly updated its privacy policy a month later to say that data could be used to train AI models, and the FAQ section states that “opting out does not affect training that has already taken place.” This, according to prosecutors, is a way of “covering tracks” that suggests LinkedIn was aware that its practices violated privacy laws.
The plaintiffs are demanding $1,000 in damages for each LinkedIn user who co-signed the suit, in addition to unspecified damages for breach of contract. Of its own accord, LinkedIn will not pay a dime: in a response to Reuters, it called the allegations false and baseless.
Under fire in Europe
The U.S. indictment is not an isolated incident. LinkedIn is also under fire in Europe for how it handles users’ personal data for AI training. Test Acquisition launched a lawsuit against LinkedIn in August. Here it also alleges that LinkedIn uses users’ personal data unlawfully and tries to cover it up.
Whether it comes to a conviction remains to be seen. For Europe, the decision lies with the Irish privacy watchdog. The latter recently fined LinkedIn heavily as a result of an older complaint.