Today, lead attorney Sarah Wight shared an update on LinkedIn about the hiQ court ruling that LinkedIn may enforce its User Agreement against data scraping and fake accounts. This is a significant step in helping us keep our platform and members safe, so we’re sharing it with you in full text here.
Today in the hiQ legal proceeding, the Court announced a significant win for LinkedIn and our members against personal data scraping, among other platform abuses. The Court ruled that LinkedIn’s User Agreement unambiguously prohibits scraping and the unauthorized use of scraped data as well as fake accounts, affirming LinkedIn’s legal positions against hiQ for the past six years. The Court also found that hiQ knew for years that its actions violated our User Agreement, and that LinkedIn is entitled to move forward with its claim that hiQ violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
The Court’s ruling helps us better protect everyone in our professional community from unauthorized use of profile data, and it establishes important precedent to stop this kind of abuse in the future. We will continue to fight on behalf of our members to stop illegal scraping. From taking legal action against unauthorized scraping to making significant investments in technical defenses, we are committed to keeping the control of data where it belongs – with our members.
