LinkedIn is facing a €310 million ($334 million) fine in the EU after the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) found that it had inappropriately undertaken behavioral studies of its members’ data for targeted advertising.
This verdict claims that LinkedIn violated the GDPR by failing to get valid consent, demonstrate legitimate interest, or demonstrate a contractual necessity to process the data it and third parties obtained.
The DPC also criticized LinkedIn and issued an order requiring it to collect all data properly.
“The lawfulness of processing is a fundamental aspect of data protection law and the processing of personal data without an appropriate legal basis is a clear and serious violation of a data subject’s fundamental right to data protection,” DPC Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle stated.
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The ruling follows a 2018 complaint by the French non-profit group La Quadrature Du Net, as well as an initial investigation into whether LinkedIn processed its users’ data properly, fairly, and honestly.
The case was initially brought to the attention of the French Data Protection Authority before being passed to the DPC because LinkedIn’s European headquarters are in Ireland.
Reacting to the decision, a LinkedIn spokesperson said, “Today the Irish Data Protection Commission (IDPC) reached a final decision on claims from 2018 about some of our digital advertising efforts in the EU.
“While we believe we have been in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we are working to ensure our ad practices meet this decision by the IDPC’s deadline.”
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