Thu, 23 Jan 2025

LinkedIn accused of using private messages to train AI

The lawsuit alleges LinkedIn tried to conceal its actions but the firm says the claims are false.
A lawsuit filed on behalf of LinkedIn Premium users accuses the social media platform of sharing private messages with other companies to train AI models without consent. The lawsuit alleges that LinkedIn introduced a privacy setting in August 2023 that automatically opted users into a program allowing third-party use of their personal data for AI training, without informing them. LinkedIn is accused of concealing its actions by changing its privacy policy in September 2023 to justify the disclosure of user information for AI purposes. The lawsuit claims LinkedIn attempted to cover up its actions by updating its FAQs to suggest users could opt out of sharing data for AI purposes, but that doing so would not affect existing training. The lawsuit seeks $1,000 per user for alleged violations of the US federal Stored Communications Act and an unspecified amount for breach of contract and California's unfair competition law. LinkedIn has denied the allegations, stating "these are false claims with no merit." The case was filed in a California federal court on behalf of a LinkedIn Premium user and "all others" similarly affected.
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