LinkedIn users alert: your data helps train AI models

Eunice Lam

The privacy watchdog has issued a reminder to users of LinkedIn - the world's largest employment-focused social media platform - about the potential use of their personal data for training artificial intelligence models.

As of June, LinkedIn, owned by Microsoft, has about 3.52 million users in Hong Kong, primarily aged between 25 and 34.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data noted in a statement that LinkedIn recently updated its privacy policy.

This change allows the platform to utilize personal data and user-generated content to train its generative AI models for content creation.

Notably, the setting for consent to such data use is enabled by default.

The office expressed concerns regarding this update, saying "LinkedIn's privacy policy change has raised alarms among data-protection authorities in other jurisdictions." It said it is particularly worried that LinkedIn's default opt-in setting may not accurately reflect users' choices.

Consequently, the office has reached out to LinkedIn for clarification on this matter.

Privacy commissioner Ada Chung Lai-ling stressed the importance of Hong Kong users reviewing the updated privacy policy to help them make informed decisions about allowing LinkedIn's use of their personal data for AI training.

The office recommends that those who do not wish to have their data used should revoke the platform's permission. They can do this by disabling the "Use my data for training content creation AI models" option in their account settings.

Generative AI tools, including chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT, learn from extensive text and image datasets. Beyond LinkedIn, other major technology companies such as Meta are also leveraging user data for AI model training.

Francis Fong Po-kiu, honorary president of the Hong Kong Information Technology Federation, said it has become increasingly common for tech firms to utilize user data for generative AI training.

"If you do not want the platform to use your information for AI training, you can simply opt out," he said. "Even when using AI tools for writing posts, you can choose to opt out to prevent your account data from being used." Fong added that any data used for training AI models would be encrypted and advised users to avoid disclosing personal information when interacting with generative AI tools.

In a mid-September post, LinkedIn announced updates to its user agreement. The updates include details on content recommendation and moderation practices, new provisions related to generative AI features, and licensing updates aimed at helping creators expand their brands beyond LinkedIn.

These changes are scheduled to take effect on November 20.

The post noted that the information gathered will be utilized to "develop the products and services of LinkedIn and its affiliates, including training AI models for content generation and enhancing security measures."

The platform confirmed it will not use data from users in the European Economic Area, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom for AI training.

eunice.lam@singtaonewscorp.com