LinkedIn Sued Over AI Training and Data Privacy Violations

LinkedIn is facing a lawsuit from Premium customers alleging the platform shared their private messages with third parties to train generative AI models without consent.

The proposed class action, filed Tuesday on behalf of millions of LinkedIn Premium users, claims the company quietly introduced a privacy setting in August allowing users to enable or disable data sharing.

In September, LinkedIn updated its privacy policy to state that user data could be used for AI training. A related FAQ clarified that opting out would not affect training already conducted.

The complaint accuses LinkedIn of attempting to "cover its tracks," asserting the platform knowingly violated users' privacy and its own data-use promises to avoid public and legal scrutiny.

Filed in San Jose, California, federal court, the lawsuit represents Premium users whose InMail messages were shared for AI training before the September update.

It seeks damages for breach of contract, violations of California’s unfair competition law, and $1,000 per person under the federal Stored Communications Act.