October 25, 2024 at 02:20AM
The Irish Data Protection Commission fined LinkedIn €310 million for violating user privacy through improper behavioral analysis for targeted advertising, lacking users’ explicit consent. This decision, linked to GDPR principles, mandates compliance within three months. Additionally, privacy group noyb has filed a complaint against Pinterest for similar consent violations.
### Meeting Takeaways – October 25, 2024
**Topic:** Digital Advertising / Privacy
1. **LinkedIn Fine:**
– The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) has fined LinkedIn €310 million ($335 million) for violating user privacy.
– The fine was related to LinkedIn’s processing of personal data for behavioral analysis and targeted advertising without obtaining explicit user consent.
2. **GDPR Compliance Issues:**
– The investigation highlighted breaches of multiple GDPR principles:
– Lack of transparency and fairness in data processing (specifically Articles 6, 5(1)(a), 13(1)(c), and 14(1)(c)).
– Failure to inform users or obtain explicit consent before processing third-party data.
– LinkedIn has been given three months to align its European operations with GDPR requirements.
3. **Legal Framework:**
– The GDPR, effective since May 25, 2018, governs the collection, processing, storage, and transfer of personal data in the EU and EEA.
– DPC underscores that lawful processing is critical to data protection rights.
4. **LinkedIn’s Response:**
– LinkedIn, owned by Microsoft, believes it has complied with GDPR but is committed to adjusting its advertising practices by the DPC’s deadline.
5. **Noyb vs. Pinterest:**
– Austrian privacy non-profit noyb filed a complaint against Pinterest for using “legitimate interests” to track users by default instead of seeking opt-in consent.
– Pinterest maintains that its advertising approach adheres to GDPR.
**Next Steps:**
– Monitoring LinkedIn’s compliance actions and response to DPC requirements.
– Observing the outcome of noyb’s complaint involving Pinterest and any subsequent regulatory actions.
**Follow-Up:** For more updates, consider following relevant channels on Twitter and LinkedIn.