LinkedIn, the Microsoft-owned professional networking platform, is being sued by Premium customers who claim their private messages were shared without consent to train AI models, according to a recent report by Reuters.

The class action, filed in federal court in San Jose, California, alleges that LinkedIn quietly added a privacy setting in August, allowing users to manage data sharing. By September, the company updated its privacy policy to reveal that user data could be used for AI training, with a disclaimer that opting out wouldn't undo past usage.

Plaintiffs argue LinkedIn breached user trust by secretly leveraging private InMail messages for AI development and trying to "cover its tracks" to avoid scrutiny, as per Reuters.

The lawsuit seeks damages for breach of contract and violations of California's unfair competition law, as well as $1,000 compensation per person for violating the federal Stored Communications Act.

LinkedIn denies the allegations, calling them "baseless". Legal representatives for the plaintiffs have yet to comment further, states the report.