LinkedIn Fined €310 Million by EU for GDPR Violation
The professional social network LinkedIn, owned by Microsoft, has been fined €310 million by the European Union for violating the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This decision comes from the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), which ruled that LinkedIn did not obtain adequate consent from its users for the use of their personal data for targeted advertising.
The breach concerns user consent, which the DPC deemed not to be "free, informed, or specific". This means that LinkedIn failed to comply with the strict rules of the GDPR, which require total transparency in the use of personal data. This sanction follows a complaint filed in 2018 by the French association La Quadrature du Net, which advocates for digital rights.
In addition to the fine, LinkedIn must now comply with the GDPR, which involves revising its practices regarding behavioral analysis and targeted advertising. These techniques, which involve analyzing users' personal data to offer personalized ads, are at the heart of this case.
La Quadrature du Net had also filed similar complaints against other tech giants, such as Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon, for similar GDPR violations, demonstrating an ongoing struggle against the abusive use of personal data in the digital economy.
With this decision, the European Union reaffirms its commitment to enforcing users' rights online, particularly in the face of large tech companies.
