Hong Kong's privacy watchdog has raised concerns over an update to LinkedIn's policy that allows the career-focused platform to collect user data to train artificial intelligence models. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) on Thursday said it has contacted LinkedIn on the matter, and urged users in the SAR to make sure they understand the privacy policy. "LinkedIn's privacy policy update has aroused concerns of data protection authorities in other jurisdictions. The PCPD is also concerned about whether LinkedIn's default opt-in setting for using users' personal data to train generative AI models correctly reflects users' choices," the watchdog said in a statement. In an official post in September, LinkedIn said there were updates to its privacy policy. "We have added language to clarify how we use the information you share with us to develop the products and services of LinkedIn and its affiliates, including by training AI models used for content generation and through security and safety measures," it said. "When it comes to using members' data for generative AI training, we offer an opt-out setting." The firm, at that time, noted that it had suspended the collection of user data for training AI models in some countries in Europe. But for users in other places, they have an opt-out toggle in their settings to stop LinkedIn from scraping their personal data.
