LinkedIn faces complaint over its selling of user data

Vienna: A prominent data protection group on Tuesday filed a complaint in Austria against LinkedIn over the professional networking platform’s selling of user data.

Vienna-based Noyb — which stands for “None of Your Business” — said it filed a complaint with the Austrian Data Protection Authority on behalf of a LinkedIn user wanting access to his data.

The user is demanding a “full response to his access request”, the group said, adding it was also asking for a fine to be imposed on LinkedIn.

According to Noyb, the Microsoft-owned platform cites data protection concerns for not complying with access requests.

At the same time, the company asks users to sign up for its paid premium membership if they want to see who has visited their profile pages, Noyb said.

“People have the right to receive their own data free of charge,” Noyb data protection lawyer Martin Baumann said.

It was “unclear” whether the tracking of visitors is legal, as the company does not ask for active consent, Noyb said.

Noyb has launched hundreds of legal cases that often prompt action from regulatory authorities against tech giants.

The group began working in 2018 with the advent of the European Union’s landmark General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which aims to make it easier for people to control how companies use their personal information.