LinkedIn faced backlash after it was revealed that the platform was using user content to train their AI models without permission, sparking outrage among users.
Under the updated Privacy policies, LinkedIn now collects user posts to train their AI generative functions. The new privacy policy includes a section explaining automatic data collection, although this change was implemented before the official announcement.
The document states that AI may utilize personal information to provide recommendations for writing texts and posts, with users needing to disable the setting to opt out. LinkedIn will also gather data on platform activities, usage frequency, linguistic preferences, and feedback.
Users based in the EU, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland can breathe a sigh of relief as their data will not be used for AI training purposes in the foreseeable future.
Though LinkedIn claims to prioritize minimizing the use of personal data for training, they rely on confidentiality protection technologies to remove or modify such information. However, there is a possibility of accidentally including personal data from third parties in AI-generated content, such as mentor names in articles.
Anticipating user backlash, LinkedIn provided instructions on disabling data collection for AI training, requiring users to navigate to their profile settings, select privacy options, and turn off the setting related to AI improvement. An article was also published on how to disable data transfer for AI model training.
The human rights organization Open Rights Group (Org) called out LinkedIn for processing data for AI without user consent.