This is the second post in the series in which we look at what you agreed to when you signed the LinkedIn terms of service. This is not designed as an attack on LinkedIn. They don’t behave any differently to any of the social media channels. We all tick the boxes and accept the terms of service, but do you really know what you committed to when you signed up your legal agreement with the SanFrancisco bemoth?
1. License and warranty for your submissions to LinkedIn.
You own the information you provide LinkedIn under this Agreement, and may request its deletion at any time, unless you have shared information or content with others and they have not deleted it, or it was copied or stored by other users. Additionally, you grant LinkedIn a nonexclusive, irrevocable, worldwide, perpetual, unlimited, assignable, sub licenseable, fully paid up and royalty-free right to us to copy, prepare derivative works of, improve, distribute, publish, remove, retain, add, process, analyze, use and commercialize, in any way now known or in the future discovered, any information you provide, directly or indirectly to LinkedIn, including, but not limited to, any user generated content, ideas, concepts, techniques or data to the services, you submit to LinkedIn, without any further consent, notice and/or compensation to you or to any third parties. Any information you submit to us is at your own risk of loss as noted in Sections 2 and 3 of this Agreement.
This comes down to understanding that the information you put on LinkedIn belongs to LinkedIn, and they retain the right to use it as they wish, in effect transferring ownership, or providing data for use in any way that benefits LinkedIn, or other users. It is worth noting that your content can be changed or commercialised, and that once you share anything on the platform you no longer own or control it, and you have no control or consent over how it is used.
1. Sign-In Credentials
You agree to: (1) Keep your password secure and confidential; (2) not permit others to use your account; (3) refrain from using other Users’ accounts; (4) refrain from selling, trading, or otherwise transferring your LinkedIn account to another party; and (5) refrain from charging anyone for access to any portion of LinkedIn, or any information therein. Further, you are responsible for anything that happens through your account until you close down your account or prove that your account security was compromised due to no fault of your own.
I draw attention to this clause because I am aware of organisations who post on behalf of others, send personal messages and updates to users from your account or post on your behalf. I’m also aware of users passing their log in details and access to recruiters to share jobs, updates and InMail on their behalf. This is considered a real no no, and is not something you should agree to because you put your account at risk. If an organisation sells you this service, and it is common, understand you are directly breaching the terms of service and face penalty.
1. LinkedIn Applications
LinkedIn may offer the Services through applications built using LinkedIn’s platform (“LinkedIn Applications”). Examples of LinkedIn Applications include its smart phone applications (LinkedIn for Blackberry or LinkedIn for iPhone), and LinkedIn’s “Share” buttons and other interactive plugins distributed on websites across the web. LinkedIn Applications are distinct from third party Platform Applications addressed in Section 4.B. If you use a LinkedIn Application or interact with a website that has deployed a plugin, you agree that information about you and your use of the Services, including, but not limited to, your device, your mobile carrier, your internet access provider, your physical location, and/or web pages containing LinkedIn plugins that load in your browser may be communicated to us.
Further, by importing any of your LinkedIn data through the LinkedIn Application, you represent that you have authority to share the transferred data with your mobile carrier or other access provider. In the event you change or deactivate your mobile account, you must promptly update your LinkedIn account information to ensure that your messages are not sent to the person that acquires your old number and failure to do so is your responsibility. You acknowledge you are responsible for all charges and necessary permissions related to accessing LinkedIn through your mobile access provider. Therefore, you should check with your provider to find out if the Services are available and the terms for these services for your specific mobile devices.
Finally, by using any downloadable application to enable your use of the Services, you are explicitly confirming your acceptance of the terms of the End User License Agreement associated with the application provided at download or installation, or as may be updated from time to time.
It is worth that every application has its own terms of service. If you are using, for example, a combination of Raportive, SlideShare and the LinkedIn mobile app, you have signed up for and agreed to at least 7 different user agreements and terms of service. It is worth noting the mobile data such as contacts, locations, times and other personal data from your mobile etc. becomes accessible and useable by LinkedIn, and that is a lot more personal data than you sign over on the ordinary platform. Every app gives LinkedIn access to something new.
A. Our Rights and Obligations
1. Services Availability
For as long as LinkedIn continues to offer the Services, LinkedIn shall provide and seek to update, improve and expand the Services. As a result, we allow you to access LinkedIn as it may exist and be available on any given day and have no other obligations, except as expressly stated in this Agreement. We may modify, replace, refuse access to, suspend or discontinue LinkedIn, partially or entirely, or change and modify prices for all or part of the Services for you or for all our users in our sole discretion. All of these changes shall be effective upon their posting on our site or by direct communication to you unless otherwise noted. LinkedIn further reserves the right to withhold, remove and or discard any content available as part of your account, with or without notice if deemed by LinkedIn to be contrary to this Agreement. For avoidance of doubt, LinkedIn has no obligation to store, maintain or provide you a copy of any content that you or other Users provide when using the Services.
Nothing unusual here, services can be changed, dropped, removed or changed to paid for services without notice, other than e-mail, banner or blog. You should expect constant change and not be dependent on any part of the service. Of particular interest is the right to change the price at any time. I have never heard of them changing a price mid contract, but they could. LinkedIn has no obligation to you, and when you use a free service, even if only in part, you are the service.
This is part 2, with 2 more to follow. Before anyone jumps up and down and berates LinkedIn, these terms of service are no different in nature or complexity to Facebook, Twitter, Google, Skype or any other free service you might sign up to. The reality is that we sign over control, ownership and rights of ownership over anything we post, share, create or add to any of these places, and we should understand that data ownership is a thing of the past.
What are your thoughts?
Bill