LinkedIn Profile Visitor Lists Belong to the People, Says Noyb

Why It Matters

The outcome will clarify whether businesses can withhold personal data behind a paywall, directly affecting compliance costs and user rights across the EU tech and financial sectors.

Key Takeaways

• EU user demands free access to LinkedIn visitor list under GDPR
• Noyb argues data access cannot be restricted to paying members
• LinkedIn claims its privacy policy already satisfies Article 15 obligations
• Case could set precedent for monetizing personal data versus access rights
• Legal outcome may affect banks and other firms offering paid data reports

Pulse Analysis

The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation grants individuals an unconditional right to obtain any personal data a company processes about them. Article 15, often called the right of access, requires controllers to provide a copy of that data without charge. LinkedIn’s model, which reserves detailed visitor‑list information for Premium subscribers, now faces scrutiny because the same data is already being processed for free‑user accounts. By refusing a full, free disclosure, the platform risks breaching a core GDPR principle that personal data cannot be commodified at the expense of the data subject’s statutory rights.

Noyb, a privacy‑rights NGO, has taken up the case, arguing that LinkedIn’s argument – that providing visitor details to all users would harm the privacy of the visitors – is untenable. The only narrow exception in Article 15 permits denial only if it would adversely affect the rights and freedoms of others. Since LinkedIn already shares the same information with paying members, it cannot claim a broader privacy risk for non‑paying users without contradicting its own service. Legal scholars see this as a litmus test for the balance between a company’s revenue models and the EU’s strong data‑subject protections.

If the courts side with the requester, the decision could ripple through sectors that sell curated data back to consumers, such as banking, insurance, and marketing platforms. Companies that currently charge for detailed statements, usage analytics, or credit‑report summaries may need to restructure their offerings to comply with a clarified right of access. The precedent would reinforce the EU’s stance that personal data, regardless of its commercial potential, remains the property of the individual, prompting a wave of policy revisions and potentially reshaping data‑monetisation strategies across the continent.