Right to view: LinkedIn will doubtless point out to the Austrian Data Protection Authority that all users, including free subscribers, can opt out of having their profile visit made visible by toggling off the feature in Settings/Visibility tab/’Visibility when viewing other profiles’. Then each visit a user makes to another profile is recorded as one by an ‘Anonymous LinkedIn Member’. Free users can also see the last five visitors to their profile, as long as those users have not selected this anonymity setting.It’s possible the company will further argue that, under Article 15, the rights of users to know who has viewed their data conflicts with the rights of other users to maintain their own privacy.When contacted for response, a LinkedIn spokesperson sent the following statement: “This assertion [by NOYB] is false. Not only is it incorrect that only Premium members can see who has viewed their profile, but we also satisfy GDPR Article 15 by disclosing the information at issue via our Privacy Policy.”According to Helen Brain, partner and head of commercial at Square One Law in the UK, the case would cause problems for LinkedIn’s lawyers even if the outcome remained uncertain.”NOYB appears to have a strong argument that LinkedIn is breaching GDPR in one way or the other, but it’s impossible to say how likely they are to succeed before we see LinkedIn’s counter-arguments,” she said.The complaint is on strong ground when arguing that profile visits should fall under GDPR Article 15 Right of Access. “If the viewer’s personal data is private and shouldn’t be disclosed in response to a DSAR by the viewed person, logically that means the viewer’s personal data should not be disclosed to premium account holders either,” said Brain. “If NOYB is successful in its complaint, the Austrian Data Protection Authority could ultimately issue a fine, and that could be substantial.” However, predicting the wider effect on technology companies using the same ‘data as a feature’ to incentivize paid subscriptions is difficult in advance of a ruling. If NOYB prevails, LinkedIn could be ordered to stop its disclosure of profile searchers or, alternatively, to make this available free of charge in response to DSARs.However, Brain believed the issue might come down to the way consent is gained. “Even if LinkedIn is ordered to change what it is doing, it will find a new way to gain consent to permit the disclosures of searchers lawfully and continue to charge for the data they gather.”This article originally appeared on Computerworld.
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