LinkedIn Premium users have filed a lawsuit against the popular social networking platform, accusing the company of sharing their private messages with other companies to train artificial intelligence (AI) models.

Last August, the world’s largest business social networking site “quietly” introduced a privacy setting that automatically allowed users to opt-in to a program that allowed third parties to use their personal data to train AI, according to the lawsuit. .

They also accuse the company – owned by Microsoft – of she concealed her actions a month later, changing its privacy policy to say that user information could be disclosed for AI training purposes.

A LinkedIn spokesperson told BBC News that “these are false claims without basis.”

The lawsuit also said LinkedIn changed its “frequently asked questions” section that said users can opt out of sharing data for AI purposes. “LinkedIn’s actions … show a pattern of trying to cover its tracks”the lawsuit said.

“This behavior suggests that LinkedIn was fully aware that it had broken its privacy promises and standards and intended to minimize public scrutiny.”is noted.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court California on behalf of a LinkedIn Premium user and others in a similar situation.

They are also seeking $1,000 in damages per user for alleged violations of the US federal Stored Communications Act, as well as an unspecified amount for breach of contract and California’s unfair competition law.

According to an email LinkedIn sent to its users last year, it “has not permitted the sharing of user data for artificial intelligence purposes in the United Kingdom, the European Economic Area and Switzerland.”

It is noted that LinkedIn has more than one billion users worldwide, with almost a quarter of them in the US.

In 2023, the company had revenues of $1.7 billion. dollars from premium subscriptions. It has also stated that the number of premium subscribers is growing rapidly as it continues to add more AI features.