LinkedIn Gets ‘Browsergate’ Proposed Class Actions Thrown Out – Gizmodo

Microsoft-owned LinkedIn has had two separate proposed class actions claiming the site illegally scanned users’ browser extension data thrown out. In a ruling issued earlier this week, spotted by Ars Technica, Judge Vince Chhabria of the US District Court for the Northern District of California rejected the plaintiffs’ standing to sue, stating that they failed to demonstrate they had “browser extensions installed that conveyed private information to LinkedIn.” Chhabria also suggested that the two plaintiffs—California residents Nicholas Farrell and Jeff Ganan—would have difficulty proving any privacy violations occurred, let alone win the case. Earlier this year, a German entity called Fairlinked issued a report titled “Browsergate,” Ars reported. Fairlinked argued LinkedIn violates prohibitions on collecting “special category data” (racial/ethnic origin, political beliefs, etc.) under European Union law, since browser extensions can contain sensitive data. The Browsergate report also argued the scanning violated California’s state privacy laws, punishable by a $5,000 fine per LinkedIn user in the state. Per The Next Web, independent parties like BleepingComputer confirmed the lawsuits’ core allegation that LinkedIn scans visitors for 6,000 browser extensions, collected hardware, and software data, and sent it back with every API request, all without disclosure or a mention in its privacy
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