LinkedIn profile visitor lists belong to the people, says Noyb • Hacker News Board

Re: LinkedIn profile visitor lists belong to the people, says Noyb

#91

Post by buzer » Thu, May 07, 2026, 4:31 PM UTC

strictnein wrote: post #73

I don't quite get the "GDPR requires you to share with someone the personal details of people who happened to visit a webpage that you setup on a free website" angle here. I don't get how that's your data and not the data of the people who visited the page? That seems to violate the GDPR more than the current state, no? If I accidentally click on your profile you're entitled to my name and employer and that's your da…

It's both your data and that person's data.

(copied from my earlier comment) I think it's very close to C-579/21 which was about audit logs. In that one CJEU ruled that audit logs are personal data of you and the person who performed the action. They did allow censoring the person's name in that case (and exact timestamp), but given that in this case LI is selling this information to same person then "protecting others" rings pretty hollow.

Re: LinkedIn profile visitor lists belong to the people, says Noyb

#92

Post by Anonbrit » Thu, May 07, 2026, 4:38 PM UTC

theturtlemoves wrote: post #66

menno-sh wrote: post #9

Oh I LOVE this, we can't have enough of these privacy-focused non-profits making tech companies' lives difficult. They have such a strong argument here, too. I can imagine that whoever came up with this is very pleased with theirselves, and rightfully so.

[flagged]

I'd say instead that we value the commons and don't like companies making money by externalising all their problems to the general public.

If company Foo leaks my personal data, I suffer, they don't, so without regulation there's no reason for them to invest in protecting it. Same with pollution and similar

Re: LinkedIn profile visitor lists belong to the people, says Noyb

#93

Post by nkmnz » Thu, May 07, 2026, 4:51 PM UTC

dec0dedab0de wrote: post #54

Interesting, does that mean if you use google analytics you can demand the details google has about every user that hits your site?

I think the key point here is that LinkedIn distributes personal data of the profile owner to the visitor. That data is subject to GDPR, so the plaintiff assumes that they have the right to know who received that data from LinkedIn.

What kind of personal data of the website owner does google analytics distribute that makes that analogy work?

Re: LinkedIn profile visitor lists belong to the people, says Noyb

#94

Post by lmf4lol » Thu, May 07, 2026, 4:58 PM UTC

theturtlemoves wrote: post #66

menno-sh wrote: post #9

Oh I LOVE this, we can't have enough of these privacy-focused non-profits making tech companies' lives difficult. They have such a strong argument here, too. I can imagine that whoever came up with this is very pleased with theirselves, and rightfully so.

[flagged]

I don’t agree. I run a startup in Europe for a couple of years. I never had once someone hating in me because we are successful. Literally everyone I talked with abiut it thinks its super cool what we do and supported the efforts and wished us best of luck or offered actual help.

The Europeans are very aware of the externalities of businesses. This translates to more bureacracy and often also into pretty dumb “solutions” (cookie banner). Gdpr is not one of those dumb solutions btw. Its annoying to implement, true, and it puts EU business at a disadvantage compared to US businesses, but it gives also power to the people. And that is what counts in the end.

Ask yourself: do you really want to live in a Jarvinian techno-monarchy, where companies are the ultimate power holders? I am not so sure I want that.

My hope for the future is that Europeans will eventually build proper alternatives to US companies and escape the chokehold. Then we all play by our own rules and no one is at a disadvantage. Seems like a pipe dream now, but then I remember that England ruled the world not so long ago and China was a third world country nit worth mentioning. Things can turn quickly!

One more thing: Brussel really goes too far, too often. So I am always crossing my fingers for more market liberal parties to gain influence. I dont like a huge government. Not at all. But i dont believe in the nightwatch government idea either.

Re: LinkedIn profile visitor lists belong to the people, says Noyb

#95

Post by ToValueFunfetti » Thu, May 07, 2026, 5:04 PM UTC

vrganj wrote: post #61

k33n wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m an incredibly bold guy. And I would personally just stop operating in the EU if it was between that and being accountable to their bureaucrats.

You do know that "the bureaucrats" is just a slur for our democratically elected government, right? In other words, the will of the people.

What? Of course it isn't! I mean, I guess you could argue that it's technically a slur in the sense that it is disparaging, but obviously the guy knows that he's being disparaging- you use that word to draw connection to identitarian slurs which are inherently wrong, and bureaucrat is not that. It also refers specifically and exclusively to the parts of the government that aren't democratically elected; the opposite of what you're saying.

Even setting that aside, 'the fat cheeto and his deplorable clowns in congress' is a slur for a democratically elected government, "the will of the people". So what? We shouldn't be allowed to insult a democratically elected government for some reason? Democracies are certainly preferable to autocracies, but that doesn't mean 'democratically elected' is a synonym for 'good'.

Re: LinkedIn profile visitor lists belong to the people, says Noyb

#96

Post by k33n » Thu, May 07, 2026, 5:04 PM UTC

greggoB wrote: post #42

k33n wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m an incredibly bold guy. And I would personally just stop operating in the EU if it was between that and being accountable to their bureaucrats.

Nobody's holding a gun to your head, you're welcome to setup shop in the most anarchist society you can find. Good luck with whatever version of "operating" you're able to manage while there :)

Why would I move to London?

Re: LinkedIn profile visitor lists belong to the people, says Noyb

#97

Post by weezing » Thu, May 07, 2026, 5:26 PM UTC

theturtlemoves wrote: post #66

menno-sh wrote: post #9

Oh I LOVE this, we can't have enough of these privacy-focused non-profits making tech companies' lives difficult. They have such a strong argument here, too. I can imagine that whoever came up with this is very pleased with theirselves, and rightfully so.

[flagged]

Being an European doesn't make your arguments less ridiculous.

Re: LinkedIn profile visitor lists belong to the people, says Noyb

#98

Post by huhkerrf » Thu, May 07, 2026, 5:27 PM UTC

phasefactor wrote: post #4

Love it, the article referring to a statement by a LinkedIn spokesperson: "The first part of that statement is false, as you can see from the screenshot above. Given the obvious untrustworthiness of that half of the statement, we didn't bother wasting any time trying to evaluate the second part."

But the statement wasn't false, was it? I'm not a paying member of LinkedIn, and I can see who visited my profile.

Re: LinkedIn profile visitor lists belong to the people, says Noyb

#99

Post by recursivecaveat » Thu, May 07, 2026, 5:29 PM UTC

k33n wrote: post #13

menno-sh wrote: post #9

Oh I LOVE this, we can't have enough of these privacy-focused non-profits making tech companies' lives difficult. They have such a strong argument here, too. I can imagine that whoever came up with this is very pleased with theirselves, and rightfully so.

[flagged]

As everyone knows, there are no soldiers, or litigation lawyers, or security guards, or investigative journalists, or police, or home inspectors, in America, since everyone understands it would be inappropriate to make life difficult for bad actors. The one true way is to lie down for corporations, and tell anyone who doesn't like it that they're free to live in the woods and interact with no-one if they appreciate personal liberty so much.

Re: LinkedIn profile visitor lists belong to the people, says Noyb

#100

Post by victorbjorklund » Thu, May 07, 2026, 5:35 PM UTC

drfloyd51 wrote: post #83

Wait… LinkedIn shared a public profile a user filled out for the purposes of sharing. Someone viewed the profile. How exactly is it “personal data” who viewed the profile? If I put my resume on my website, is my ISP required to tell me who visited my website? (The logs give technical data, but not the name of the person viewing.)

Lots of things are like that. A list of things you have bought. Well, the things themselves are not personal data. The relationship is.