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LinkedIn is again facing controversy regarding its use of private information for AI training. This time, the company was sued in a class-action lawsuit filed by its Premium users. The plaintiffs claim that LinkedIn secretly shared their private messages with third parties for the purpose of training generative artificial intelligence models, without obtaining proper consent.
The legal action, filed in a federal court in San Jose, California, stems from a privacy change LinkedIn implemented last August. According to the lawsuit, LinkedIn quietly introduced a new setting allowing users to control whether their personal data could be shared. However, users allege that the platform later updated its privacy policy on September 18, stating that user data could be used for AI model training, including data from private messages.
This update to the privacy policy was reportedly buried in a “frequently asked questions” section, where users were informed that opting out of data sharing would not affect prior data usage. The plaintiffs argue that LinkedIn’s failure to notify users clearly about the change and its impact on privacy constitutes a breach of trust, as it contradicted previous assurances that user data would only be used to enhance the platform itself.
The lawsuit is filed on behalf of LinkedIn Premium customers who have sent or received InMail messages, claiming that their private information was improperly disclosed to third parties for AI training prior to the September update. The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages for breach of contract, violations of California’s unfair competition law, and $1,000 per person for breaches under the federal Stored Communications Act, according to Reuters.
LinkedIn has denied the accusations, labeling the claims as “false”.
The case, De La Torre v. LinkedIn Corp, is currently under review in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
