An Austrian privacy organization announced Tuesday that it had filed a complaint against the professional network LinkedIn for the sale of the digital data of its millions of users.
The NGO Noyb — an acronym for “None of Your Business” — said in a statement that it had filed a complaint with the Austrian Data Protection Authority on behalf of a LinkedIn user wishing to access his data.
This user demands “a complete response to his access request”, declared the organization, also demanding a fine against the social network, a subsidiary of Microsoft.
According to Noyb, LinkedIn cites data protection concerns for not acting on access requests.
But at the same time, the company asks users to subscribe to its Premium paid subscription if they want to know in detail who has viewed their profile, points out the Austrian association.
“People have the right to receive their own data free of charge,” argues Noyb’s data protection lawyer, Martin Baumann.
According to the Vienna-based association, the legality of the social network’s tracking of users “lacks clarity” because the company does not ask them for explicit consent.
Noyb has established itself as one of the leading organizations defending online privacy rights. The NGO has launched several legal actions against tech giants, often prompting regulatory authorities to act against violations of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) within the European Union.
