LinkedIn pulls Facebook-style stunt
Privacy invasion by default
Regcast training : Hyper-V 3.0, VM high availability and disaster recovery
LinkedIn has become the latest social networking site to decide that new features can be added and switched on by default, and users don’t have to be notified.
The feature allows LinkedIn to use profile information like names and photos in third-party advertising, and seems to have been first noticed by blogger Steve Woodruff here.
The feature – hidden away in the Orwellian-named “Manage Social Advertising” option – has to be switched off through a user’s account settings. Permission for this is tucked away in a new condition in LinkedIn’s Terms of Use, which makes it an opt-out feature.
Already, Radio Netherlands Worldwide has reported that the new profile setting may breach Dutch privacy law. The CBP, The Netherlands’ data protection agency, says the use of LinkedIn members’ photographs can only be used in advertising material with the users’ explicit consent.
The Radio Netherlands piece notes that the Dutch view is in line with that of the EU Data Protection Working Party, and also states that LinkedIn failed to properly notify users of the change. ®
COMMENTS
@Martin Chandler
It's entirely *your* fault that El Reg is publishing "old news" - you could have emailed the Social Networking Privacy Violation Desk the link when Greg published it, and then it would have been reported at the time, and those of us who don't subscribe to Greg's blog would have known about it in July.
Don't leave, just complain
There's a send feedback link in the footer - I'd imagine that if everyone sent a quick message along the lines of "stop it you bastards" and they were flooded, they might be persuaded to change their ways, else perhaps go the way of MySpace.
I wonder how many people (apart from spammy recruitment agents) actually find LinkedIn useful. Until today I hadn't logged in for ages.
Direct Link
ere is the direct link to the page where you can turn off this preference
https://www.linkedin.com/settings/?modal=nsettings-social-advertising&tab=account
IT infrastructure monitoring strategies
Agentless Backup is Not a Myth
Top 10 SIEM implementer’s checklist
Steps to Take Before Choosing a Business Continuity Partner
Requirements Checklist for Choosing a Cloud Backup and Recovery Service Provider
