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A US lawsuit filed on behalf of LinkedIn Premium users accuses the social network of sharing their private information with other companies to train artificial intelligence (AI).
It is said that in August last year, the world’s largest social networking site “quietly” launched a secret, selective user program that allowed other people to use their data to train AI.
It also accuses the Microsoft-owned company of hiding its activities a month after changing its privacy policy to allow user data to be disclosed for AI training purposes.
A LinkedIn spokesperson told BBC News that “this is completely false”.
The post also said that LinkedIn has updated its ‘frequently asked questions’ section to say that users can choose not to share information for AI purposes but that doing so will not affect previous training.
“LinkedIn’s actions … show a pattern of trying to hide its behavior,” the lawsuit said.
“This action shows that LinkedIn was fully aware that it violated its contractual promises and privacy laws and aimed to reduce public scrutiny”.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in California on behalf of a LinkedIn Premium user and “all others” in the same situation.
It seeks $1,000 (£812) per user for violating the US federal Stored Communications Act and unspecified amounts for breach of contract and California’s unfair competition law.
According to an email that LinkedIn sent to users last year, it did not allow sharing user data for AI purposes in the UK, European Economic Area and Switzerland.
LinkedIn has more than one billion users worldwide, nearly a quarter of whom are in the US.
In 2023, the company attracted $1.7bn in revenue from premium subscriptions.
It has also said that the number of premium subscribers continues to grow as it continues to add AI features.
Additional reporting by Lily Jamali
