LinkedIn has been accused of using the data of its users without their consent to train its generative AI model in order to enhance content creation. The data that LinkedIn is using is not just exclusive to the platform though rather, it is also available to its affiliates, who can use your personal data without your consent. This concerning information comes from a 404Media report published this week.
It seems like LinkedIn has activated this feature without users being aware of it. In fact, it appears that the platform has also turned on other options in the "How LinkedIn uses your data" section, which can be found in the settings.
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Why Is LinkedIn Hiding The Use Of Personal Data For AI Training?
LinkedIn is not the first platform to use its users' data without proper notice, but what’s troubling is that they’ve done so without directly informing users. There is a high chance that the data scraping option would be turned on in your account as well. When you check the settings, you’ll see a green toggle, indicating that your data has already been collected and used for AI training.
So, what exactly is LinkedIn doing with this data, and which AI features are relying on it? According to LinkedIn's help section (tucked away under "learn more"), AI tools like writing assistants are being developed using this information. The ironic part is that LinkedIn labels this section as “Control whether LinkedIn uses your data to train generative AI models that are used for content creation on LinkedIn.” However, the so-called "control" seems non-existent, as the feature is turned on by default.
How To Stop LinkedIn From Scraping Your Data To Train Its AI Model
- Open LinkedIn and click on your profile picture
- Go to Settings & Privacy and then you will have to click on Data Privacy
- Click on Data for Generative AI improvement and then turn off the 'Use my data for training content creation AI models' toggle