A judge in the US District Court for the Northern District of California has granted Microsoft subsidiary LinkedIn’s motion to dismiss two class-action lawsuits concerning its practice of scanning users’ browser extensions. Judge Vince Chhabria ruled that the plaintiffs failed to adequately allege standing, noting that neither plaintiff demonstrated they possessed browser extensions that transmitted private information to the professional networking site.
In his Tuesday ruling, Chhabria permitted the plaintiffs to amend their complaints but expressed skepticism that they could construct a viable legal case. He observed that users voluntarily download browser extensions, which by their inherent design intentionally expose data to websites, making it unlikely that the plaintiffs could successfully allege a privacy violation.
The legal challenges were initiated in April by California residents Nicholas Farrell and Jeff Ganan, who sought to represent themselves and other LinkedIn users. Following the dismissal, Ganan’s attorney, J.R. Howell, stated he is currently considering whether to refile the claims in California state court, which operates under different standing requirements, or to appeal the decision to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
State court appeal? Good luck proving standing there when the federal judge already signaled deep skepticism about the privacy claims.
Makes sense. Extensions are voluntary tools that intentionally share data. Expecting LinkedIn to ignore that seems like a stretch.