LinkedIn Lawsuit: Company Accused Of Selling Users' Professional Data

LinkedIn is finding itself in legal trouble again. The business-networking site is accused of allowing paid subscribers to secretly search through the employment history of its members, Gawker wrote via The Recorder. LinkedIn is being sued in California for allegedly violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

The company has a "search for references" option, which allows users to find possible references for job applicants without their knowledge or consent. The plaintiffs contend this has created an illegal marketplace that could possibly reveal inaccurate work histories. As a result, LinkedIn would be in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which was created to protect privacy of personal information and promote accuracy.

If someone was willing to pay LinkedIn’s fee, they could "anonymously dig into the employment history of any LinkedIn member and make hiring and firing decisions based upon the information they gather, without the knowledge of the member and without safeguards in place as to the accuracy of the information that the potential employer has obtained,” the lawsuit read, according to Mic.com.

LinkedIn suit

Follow me on Twitter @mariamzzarella