LinkedIn · LinkedIn User Agreement

Microsoft Affiliate Data Sharing

High severity
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What it is

LinkedIn considers Microsoft and all of its subsidiaries — including GitHub — to be its 'affiliates,' meaning your LinkedIn data can be shared across this entire corporate family under LinkedIn's privacy and data policies.

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

Your LinkedIn profile data, professional history, and content may be shared with Microsoft Corporation and its subsidiaries including GitHub, Azure, and other Microsoft products as part of LinkedIn's affiliate data-sharing practices disclosed in the Privacy Policy.

What you can do

⚠️ These actions may provide transparency or partial mitigation but may not fully address the underlying issue. Effectiveness varies by jurisdiction and individual circumstances.
  • Export Your Data
    To review what data LinkedIn holds about you (including what may be shared with Microsoft affiliates), go to Settings > Data Privacy > Get a copy of your data and request a full data archive.

Cross-platform context

See how other platforms handle Microsoft Affiliate Data Sharing and similar clauses.

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Why it matters (compliance & risk perspective)

The explicit inclusion of Microsoft Corporation and GitHub as affiliates with potential access to LinkedIn data significantly expands the data-sharing ecosystem beyond what most users expect when joining a professional networking platform.

View original clause language
Affiliates are companies controlling, controlled by or under common control with us, including, for example, LinkedIn Ireland, LinkedIn Corporation, LinkedIn Singapore and Microsoft Corporation or any of its subsidiaries (e.g., Github, Inc.).

Institutional analysis (Compliance & legal intelligence)

1) REGULATORY FRAMEWORK: GDPR Arts. 26 (joint controllers) and 28 (processors) and Art. 46 (international transfers) apply to data sharing between LinkedIn Ireland and Microsoft Corporation (US-based). The EU-US Data Privacy Framework adequacy decision provides a transfer mechanism, but LinkedIn/Microsoft must maintain DPF certification. CCPA §1798.140 definitions of 'sharing' personal information apply to cross-affiliate data flows. The Microsoft-LinkedIn merger was approved by EU competition authorities with data-sharing conditions (Case M.8124) that remain relevant. Enforcement: Ireland DPC, EU Commission (DPF), FTC (DPF enforcement), California AG. 2)

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Applicable agencies

  • FTC
    The FTC enforces EU-US Data Privacy Framework compliance and has jurisdiction over unfair data sharing practices involving Microsoft affiliates under FTC Act Section 5.
    File a complaint →

Provision details

Document information
Document
LinkedIn User Agreement
Entity
LinkedIn
Document last updated
April 29, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
April 27, 2026
Last verified
April 27, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-003361
Document ID
CA-D-00091
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
SHA-256
8fedc76c971865f58632d86176d9b66cfaadd9654c71628b1c0aed5045145f82
Verified
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Change verified
How to Cite
ConductAtlas Policy Archive
Entity: LinkedIn | Document: LinkedIn User Agreement | Record: CA-P-003361
Captured: 2026-04-27 12:11:16 UTC | SHA-256: 8fedc76c971865f5…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/linkedin/linkedin-user-agreement/microsoft-affiliate-data-sharing/
Accessed: May 2, 2026
Classification
Severity
High
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