LinkedIn, the professional social network, may have trained artificial intelligence models using user data without properly updating its terms of service. This has raised concerns about data privacy and transparency in the use of personal information.
LinkedIn users in the United States, but not in the European Union, the European Economic Area or Switzerland, have an option in their settings that allows them to opt out of sharing their data to train "AI models for content creation". While this option is not new, what is controversial is that, as reported by 404 Media, LinkedIn did not initially update its privacy policy to reflect this use of data. This update to the terms of service was only made recently, but normally these types of changes take place before they start using user data for new purposes.
Which models is LinkedIn training?
LinkedIn has indicated that it is using the data to train its own AI models, including those that suggest posts and write texts. However, it has also indicated that some of the generative AI models on its platform could be being trained by "another vendor", such as its parent company, Microsoft.
In a question and answer session, LinkedIn stated that it collects and uses personal dataabout users' interactions with the platform, such as publications, language preferences and comments provided. This data is used to improve LinkedIn's services in accordance with its privacy policy.
Despite the concerns, LinkedIn says it employs "privacy-enhancing techniques", such as removing personal information in datasets used to train generative AI models.
How to opt out of sharing your data
For users who wish to opt out of this data collection process, LinkedIn offers an option in the "Data privacy"" section of the settings menu. There, users can disable the option "Use my data to train AI models for content creation". However, LinkedIn warns that this option will not affect AI training that has already been carried out.
The growing demand for data to train AI has led several platforms to reuse user-generated content, which has sparked debates about privacy protection. Organizations such as the Open Rights Group have called for an investigation into the use of data by LinkedIn and other social networks without the explicit consent of users.
