LinkedIn scraped its users' data without informing or gaining their consent to train its own AI models and those of its "affiliates", according to a media investigation.

Revealed by 404 Media, the move comes in the wake of an updated company privacy policy that explicitly states that user data from the platform will be used to train generative AI and other models developed by LinkedIn, Microsoft and other unnamed "affiliates" and that opting out will not affect any training that has already occurred using a user's personal data or content.

The company provided an opt-out toggle and form in response to the update. LinkedIn says it removes personal data from training sets and does not use data from EU, EEA, or Switzerland residents.

The update resulted in a public backlash, with critics accusing the company of being opaque, deceptive, and unethical. 

Some people expressed concerns that LinkedIn's claims to use privacy-enhancing technologies may prove inadequate from a security perspective, whilst others argued that users should be compensated for their data being used to train AI models that benefit LinkedIn.

Timeline ⏰

• August 2024. LinkedIn quietly introduces a new privacy setting, defaulting users into AI training data sharing. 

• September 18, 2024. LinkedIn updates its privacy policy; 404 Media reports on the change, triggering public backlash. Open Rights Group files a complaint with the UK ICO.

• September 20, 2024. ICO publicly raises concerns; LinkedIn suspends AI model training on UK user data. LinkedIn confirms it is excluding UK, EEA, and Swiss users from AI training "until further notice".

• January 2025. Class action lawsuit filed in California alleging LinkedIn used Premium subscribers' private messages to train AI without consent.

• September 18, 2025. LinkedIn announces plans to extend AI training to EU, EEA, and Swiss users from 3 November 2025.

• November 3, 2025. LinkedIn AI training using EU, EEA, and Swiss user data commences.

Legal, regulatory 👩🏼‍⚖️

• Alessandro De La Torre v. LinkedIn Corp.

Research, advocacy 🧮

• Open Rights Group. The ICO is leaving an AI enforcement gap in the UK

News, commentary, analysis 🗞️

• https://techcrunch.com/2024/09/18/linkedin-scraped-user-data-for-training-before-updating-its-terms-of-service/

• https://www.404media.co/linkedin-is-training-ai-on-user-data-before-updating-its-terms-of-service/

• https://uk.pcmag.com/ai/154403/linkedin-is-quietly-training-ai-on-your-data-heres-how-to-stop-it

• https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2024/09/18/linkedin-is-using-your-data-to-train-microsoft-openai-and-its-own-ai-modelsheres-how-to-turn-it-off/

• https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/18/24248471/linkedin-ai-training-user-accounts-data-opt-in

• https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/19/linkedin_ai_data_access/