LinkedIn sued by Premium users for allegedly using their data to train AI
Company allegedly opted in users for data sharing then changed the Ts&Cs
LinkedIn has been sued in a class action lawsuit by Premium subscribers in the US who allege that the platform illegally shared their private messages with third parties to train AI models.
The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of all LinkedIn Premium subscribers, alleges that in August 2024 LinkedIn illegally opted users into having their data, including private InMail messages, processed for training AI.
It says the company then updated its privacy policy on 18th September, to state that users could choose not to share data for AI purposes, but that doing so would not affect training that had already taken place.
The plaintiffs say this action shows that LinkedIn was trying to cover its tracks, having already taken the data for AI training.
They are seeking damages of $1,000 per affected individual under the US Stored Communications Act, with an additional sum for damages.
LinkedIn has described the lawsuit's claims as "false" and "with no merit."
The site has around 175 million Premium users worldwide, representing around 39% of LinkedIn's total subscriber base and generating some $1.7 billion annually for the professional social media site, according to Analyzify.
Approximately 230 million LinkedIn users are based in the US, from which it can be inferred that an estimated 90 million may be Premium subscribers. In this case, should the lawsuit be completely successful in its aims, the potential payout could be as much as $90 billion. This scenario, while extremely unlikely, demonstrates the scale of the case.
This is not the first data protection lawsuit directed at LinkedIn. In October 2024, LinkedIn was fined €310 million by Ireland's Data Protection Commission for allegedly using member data for advertising purposes without obtaining proper consent, violating the GDPR.
In 2012, LinkedIn settled a class-action lawsuit for $1.25 million following a major data breach that compromised 6.5 million passwords.