A class action lawsuit has accused LinkedIn of sharing private customer information with third parties without permission.
The suit is being brought forward by "millions" of LinkedIn premium customers, who are accusing the social media giant of accessing private messages and using the information to train generative AI (GenAI) models.
LinkedIn – which was acquired by Microsoft in 2016 in a deal worth approximately $26.2 billion – allegedly "quietly" rolled out a privacy setting in August of 2024, which allows users to control whether their personal data is shared.
Following this update, the suit claims that on September 18, LinkedIn subtly changed its privacy policy to state that data could be used to train AI models.
The policy also included a "frequently asked questions" link, noting that opting out "does not affect training that has already taken place."
The suit contests that these actions "indicate a pattern of attempting to cover its tracks.
This behavior suggests that LinkedIn was fully aware that it had violated its contractual promises and privacy standards and aimed to minimize public scrutiny.
The suit has been filed in California in federal court. It is requesting unspecified damages for breach of contract, violations of California's unfair competition law, and $1,000 per individual for breaches of the federal Stored Communications Act.
In response to the allegations, LinkedIn was bullish, stating:
These are false claims with no merit.
Given the amount of access to data and sensitive information that social platforms currently have, particularly since the acceleration of AI, protecting and using that data responsibly is more crucial than ever.
Microsoft isn’t the first firm to come under fire for its data protection practices.
In July of last year, Patagonia faced accusations of violating California privacy law by recording and sharing customer communications without consent to help train its contact center provider's AI models.
