UK data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), has applauded LinkedIn’s recent move to cease training its generative AI (GenAI) models on UK users’ information.

Stephen Almond, Executive Director for Regulatory Risk, emphasized the importance of organizations ensuring the trust and privacy rights of the public when utilizing GenAI for maximum value.

Almond stated, “We are pleased that LinkedIn has considered the concerns we raised regarding its approach to training generative AI models with information of UK users. We appreciate LinkedIn’s decision to suspend such model training while further engaging with the ICO.”

“We will closely monitor leading developers of generative AI, such as Microsoft and LinkedIn, to verify the safeguards they have implemented to protect the information rights of UK users.”

Learn more about GenAI privacy risks: Forrester: GenAI Will Lead to Breaches and Fines in 2024

LinkedIn, which is owned by Microsoft, recently announced that it has excluded the UK from the list of countries where customers’ data will be used for training AI models.

Blake Lawit, the company’s SVP and General Counsel, mentioned, “When it comes to utilizing members’ data for generative AI training, we provide an opt-out setting. Currently, we are not facilitating training for generative AI using member data from the European Economic Area, Switzerland, and the UK, and we will not offer the setting to members in those regions until further notice.”

Meta also made headlines last week after confirming the resumption of its GenAI training program with UK users’ information, following consultations with the ICO.

The EU has effectively banned this practice, with the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) urging Meta to halt its project, a move criticized by the social media giant as “a setback for European innovation.”

Privacy advocates are concerned about GenAI models being fed large amounts of user data without informed consent from users, raising worries about corporate data breaches.

In April, a RiverSafe report revealed that one in five UK businesses had potentially sensitive company data exposed due to employee use of GenAI.

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