Noyb Challenges LinkedIn on GDPR Access to Profile Visitor Data
Privacy advocacy group Noyb is supporting an EU-based LinkedIn user in a legal challenge against Microsoft, arguing that the platform must provide a full list of profile visitors free of charge under GDPR Article 15. The dispute centers on LinkedIn's practice of restricting detailed visitor data to paying Premium subscribers while denying free users access to the same information via data subject access requests. Noyb lawyer Martin Baumann contends that companies cannot monetize personal data they process if it infringes on users' statutory right to access their own data for free. He argues that LinkedIn's claim that disclosing such data harms third-party privacy is invalid, as the company already shares this information with Premium users. This case aims to set a broader precedent regarding the intersection of data access rights and corporate business models, potentially affecting other industries like banking. LinkedIn maintains that it complies with GDPR through its Privacy Policy and clarifies that some visitor data is available to all users. The outcome could significantly clarify how GDPR applies to freemium services that gatekeep personal data behind paywalls.
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Noyb Challenges LinkedIn on GDPR Access to Profile Visitor Data
Privacy advocacy group Noyb is supporting an EU-based LinkedIn user in a legal challenge against Microsoft, arguing that the platform must provide a full list of profile visitors free of charge under GDPR Article 15. The dispute centers on LinkedIn's practice of restricting detailed visitor data to paying Premium subscribers while denying free users access to the same information via data subject access requests. Noyb lawyer Martin Baumann contends that companies cannot monetize personal data they process if it infringes on users' statutory right to access their own data for free. He argues that LinkedIn's claim that disclosing such data harms third-party privacy is invalid, as the company already shares this information with Premium users. This case aims to set a broader precedent regarding the intersection of data access rights and corporate business models, potentially affecting other industries like banking. LinkedIn maintains that it complies with GDPR through its Privacy Policy and clarifies that some visitor data is available to all users. The outcome could significantly clarify how GDPR applies to freemium services that gatekeep personal data behind paywalls.
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