Home / Business and Economy / Judge Tosses Claims of LinkedIn Browser Scanning
Judge Tosses Claims of LinkedIn Browser Scanning
12 Sep
Summary
- Court dismissed lawsuits alleging illegal scanning of browser extension data.
- Plaintiffs failed to prove they had extensions conveying private information.
- Judge suggested proving privacy violations or winning the case would be difficult.
Two proposed class action lawsuits have been dismissed after a judge ruled that plaintiffs lacked the standing to sue LinkedIn for allegedly scanning user browser extension data. The ruling, issued earlier this week, highlighted that the plaintiffs could not demonstrate that they had browser extensions installed that conveyed private information to the professional networking site.
Judge Vince Chhabria also indicated that the plaintiffs would face significant challenges in proving that any privacy violations had occurred. Reports earlier this year suggested LinkedIn scanned visitors for 6,000 browser extensions, collecting hardware and software data without disclosure. LinkedIn argued it scans extensions to identify abusive applications and that users voluntarily expose data by installing extensions.
While one plaintiff's lawyer is considering an appeal, the dismissal represents a setback for privacy advocates. Separately, LinkedIn is still facing an antitrust class action in the United States.
