Is the MOO-LinkedIn offer legal?
MOO is offering 50 free business cards (http://www.moo.com/linkedin/) when you provide them access to your LinkedIn account. MOO is using standard LinkedIn API's to become an 'authorized application'. This way they can see who is in your LinkedIn network, profiles from your network and network updates from your network.
I applied for this offer but I quickly got into a heated debate with some of my connections. They pointed out that privacy laws (more specifically laws in Belgium) do not allow me to pass this information onto third parties without their prior consent.
Is this type of information sharing legal?
If not, why does LinkedIn provide this kind of data sharing API to third parties?
Side note: LinkedIn's privacy policy is strongly focused on your own profile data. It does not mention anything about the data of your connections.
Clarification added July 30, 2008:
In the meantime MOO answered my email and they say: "The only information used from your account is the information on the cards. We do not use any from your connections in LinkedIn."
This means they only use my name, my title and the URL of my public LinkedIn profile page.
The LinkedIn API still allows for a lot more info to be retrieved though.
Location specific: Belgium
Answers (3)
Bill O.
Financial Sales Writer, Investor, Trader
Best Answers in: Advertising (1), Using LinkedIn (1)
Litrik,
This is newsworthy!
Expose it in the papers. ... particularly USA if you can.
LinkedIn will soon backpedal!
Bill
Josh G.
Business Intelligence | Datawarehouse Specialist (Cognos | Datastage | Hyperion | TM1 | Teradata | Business Objects)
Best Answers in: Staffing and Recruiting (1), Business Development (1)
Litrik,
This goes against the current privacy legislation in Australia, you must basically use information that you have collected for the express purpose purported at time of collection.
That said its pretty short sighted to open your personal business network to an organisation - purely to receive 50 business cards that you could print at kinkos for next to nothing
Linked in is wrong to endorse this - but they are a business and provide a very worthwhile free service so buy beware -
There is still no such thing as a free lunch
Josh
