[Lex Computer & Tech Group/LCTG] In case you use LinkedIn

[OLGA P GUTTAG]

Bob,

I am very aware of the differences in privacy protections between US and other countries (Canada, Europe, ...). My note was just a reminder for all of us to be even more vigilant. We can’t take back data that is already out there, but we don’t need to provide additional personal data (especially about our behavior).

I, for one, have been very careful of what data I provide to whom. So the LinkedIn article reminded me that protecting my data is even more difficult than it used to be. I thought that it included a good demonstration on how quickly personal data spreads from just one source.

Thanks for the additional reading recommendation,
Olga


> On Feb 22, 2026, at 2:52 AM, Robert Primak <bobprimak at yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
> Olga,
> 
> I'm sorry you don't understand the difference between someone living in the EU and someone living in the USA. In the USA (where LinkedIn is headquartered) what happened is standard operating procedure. The person complaining lives in the EU, which has different privacy laws from the USA. 
> 
> In the EU, privacy is taken much more seriously than in the USA. You have in many EU countries, protections against having your personal data shared with third parties. EU laws protect biometric and national ID data much more than USA laws. In many EU countries, you have the Right to Be Forgotten, whereby you can delete your personal data from public-facing web sites. The USA does not have these protections.
> 
> LinkedIn did what is legally required under many State and federal laws in the USA to verify age and/or identity. Nothing they or Persona did was in any way illegal or unusual.
> 
> I have volunteered with the Scouts, and I went through the MA SORI/CORI process. If you think LinkedIn did a thorough background check, just try going through a real background check. The Scouts had every right to share anything in that report with their partners, including private investigating companies, if they were using them.  
> 
> Just to pay my rent at my old apartment, a company in Florida and an online fintec app, both of which have advertising partners, had access to my financial, personal and credit data (including rent payment records). There was no other way to pay the rent. It was also paperless with automatic withdrawals from a bank account. They would not accept checks from a Trust Fund account. 
> 
> None of this is new. The same type of collecting and retaining of personal data has been going on since before electronic record keeping began. Banks and other financial institutions have Know Your Customer requirements, so they keep and share a tremendous amount of personal data. Even email services like this one collect, share and retain information gleaned by scanning all unencrypted email messages. These data are being used by advertising partners (hundreds of them) and in AI training. 
> 
> Don't get me started about the sharing of medical and insurance data. Did you know that many cars have Black Boxes which record your driving behaviors? Police and insurance companies can subpoena that data. 
> 
> Nothing is new about any of this. It's just much easier to find out what's being collected and how it's being shared in the Internet Age. A good read about all of this is
> The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: 
> The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power 
> January 15, 2019
> by Shoshana Zuboff <https://www.amazon.com/Shoshana-Zuboff/e/B001H6O73W/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1>
> 
> -- Bob Primak
> 
> 
> On Saturday, February 21, 2026 at 12:11:36 PM EST, OLGA P GUTTAG via LCTG <lctg at lists.toku.us> wrote:
> 
> 
> Not sure how many of you want to/have your identity verified. You should read the following story that describes why happenes to the data you provide to LinkedIn to give you that little blue check mark:
> I Verified My LinkedIn Identity. Here's What I Actually Handed Over.
> thelocalstack.eu
> <favicon.ico>
>  <https://thelocalstack.eu/posts/linkedin-identity-verification-privacy/>I Verified My LinkedIn Identity. Here's What I Actually Handed Over. <https://thelocalstack.eu/posts/linkedin-identity-verification-privacy/>
> thelocalstack.eu <https://thelocalstack.eu/posts/linkedin-identity-verification-privacy/>	<favicon.ico> <https://thelocalstack.eu/posts/linkedin-identity-verification-privacy/>
> 
> I expect that other companies treat your info similarly, so READ the fine print before you provide more info about yourself than you think the company collects.
> 
> Technology is getting to be a REAL pain - SIGH,
> Olga
> ===============================================
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