LinkedIn is facing a lawsuit from its Premium customers, who claim the business-oriented social media platform disclosed their private messages to third parties for training artificial intelligence (AI) models without their consent. The lawsuit, filed as a proposed class action in the Northern District of California, accuses LinkedIn of secretly updating its privacy policy in September 2024, allowing the platform to use personal data for AI training. Customers argue that this policy change violated their privacy and trust, as they were not explicitly informed that their data would be used for such purposes.
The legal complaint highlights a privacy setting introduced by LinkedIn in August 2024, which allowed users to opt out of sharing their data for AI training. However, the plaintiffs contend that despite this setting, LinkedIn updated its privacy policy in a way that implied their data had already been shared for AI purposes.
This move is seen as an attempt to conceal the company’s actions, suggesting that LinkedIn was aware it had violated user privacy by using personal data for AI model training without proper consent.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for breach of contract and violations of California’s unfair competition law. Additionally, it demands $1,000 per individual for breaches of the federal Stored Communications Act. The plaintiffs represent LinkedIn Premium users who had sent or received InMail messages, asserting that their private data was disclosed to third parties for AI training before the policy update. This lawsuit comes amid broader concerns over data privacy practices in the tech industry, especially regarding the use of personal data to train AI systems.
Microsoft, LinkedIn’s parent company, has not yet responded to the legal allegations, and no further comment has been provided by the plaintiffs’ attorney. The timing of the lawsuit coincides with the announcement of a significant joint venture involving Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank to build AI infrastructure in the United States. The outcome of this case could have significant implications for LinkedIn’s data privacy practices and the use of personal information for AI development across the tech industry.
