LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform, with over 810 million members worldwide as of October 2022. While LinkedIn provides valuable opportunities for networking and career development, the platform does have rules and guidelines on what type of content and behaviors are prohibited.
Inappropriate Content
LinkedIn aims to create a professional community and therefore does not allow certain types of inappropriate content. This includes:
- Explicit or graphic content – Do not post images, videos, text or other media that contain nudity, violence or anything else that is obscene or offensive.
- Hate speech – Content that attacks or incites violence against people or groups based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, medical condition, sexual orientation or other protected characteristics is not allowed.
- Harassment – Do not threaten, intimidate or bully other members on LinkedIn. This includes aggressive or unwanted messaging.
- Misinformation – Spreading demonstrably false information or conspiracy theories is prohibited.
- Spam – Repeatedly posting irrelevant or unsolicited promotional content is considered spam.
Illegal Activities
LinkedIn prohibits any content, messages or connections used for illegal purposes. This includes:
- Selling illegal or regulated goods – You cannot use LinkedIn to sell or promote weapons, drugs, tobacco, endangered species or other illegal or controlled merchandise.
- Soliciting criminal activities – Organizing or recruiting for illegal schemes is prohibited.
- Impersonation – Do not create a fake account pretending to be someone else for deceptive purposes.
Intellectual Property Violations
To respect intellectual property rights, the following are not permitted on LinkedIn:
- Copyright violations – Do not post content, including text, images or videos, that you do not have rights to share.
- Trademark infringement – Using a company or product name without permission for promotion or defamation purposes is prohibited.
- Patent violations – Describing or sharing patented inventions without authorization from the patent holder is not allowed.
Sensitive Information
Posting certain types of sensitive information without permission can violate privacy laws and LinkedIn rules. Do not share:
- Confidential information – This includes trade secrets, nonpublic strategies or other internal information of an employer or client.
- Personal identification – Sharing private contact details like email addresses, phone numbers or home addresses is restricted.
- Hacked information – Stolen data from hacking incidents cannot be disseminated on LinkedIn.
Fake Profiles and Engagement
LinkedIn prohibits artificially inflating profiles and engagement metrics through falsification, automation or coordination. This includes:
- Fake accounts – Creating profiles using false identities or impersonating real users are not allowed.
- Fake connections – Requesting to connect with people you don’t know to artificially expand your network is prohibited.
- Artificial engagement – Using bots or other automated methods to generate fake profile views, post reactions or other activity metrics violates LinkedIn policies.
- Coordinated engagement – Working with a group to artificially boost engagement such as trading likes or comments is restricted.
Advertising and Promotions
LinkedIn has rules regarding advertising and self-promotion to maintain a professional environment:
- Unsolicited promotions – Mass messaging unsolicited and irrelevant promotional content is considered spam.
- Affiliate links – Posting affiliated links solely for financial gain rather than community value is prohibited.
- Paying for endorsements – Paying or rewarding members for endorsements, recommendations or connections is restricted.
- Targeted ads – Using ad targeting for unethical purposes like discrimination is not allowed.
Circumventing Systems and Policies
Actions aimed at circumventing LinkedIn’s systems and policies are prohibited, such as:
- Ban evasion – Creating new accounts to evade an account or device ban.
- Automation – Using bots, scrapers or other automated methods to access LinkedIn data or send messages.
- Reverse engineering – Attempting to hack, decompile or disassemble LinkedIn’s software.
- Security vulnerabilities – Identifying and sharing security flaws without appropriate disclosure.
Other Banned Activities
Some additional prohibited behaviors on LinkedIn include:
- Malware – Promoting or distributing malware, spyware, phishing scams or viruses.
- Unauthorized data collection – Scraping or harvesting member data without permission.
- Impersonating LinkedIn – Falsely claiming to represent or be affiliated with LinkedIn.
- Violating terms of use – Breaking any of LinkedIn’s published terms of service and community guidelines.
Consequences of Violations
If you engage in any of the above prohibited activities on LinkedIn, possible consequences include:
- Content removal – LinkedIn can remove offending posts and messages.
- Limiting or disabling accounts – Accounts can be restricted or disabled for policy violations.
- Legal actions – LinkedIn may take legal action in cases involving criminal acts, intellectual property infringement or other unlawful behavior.
It is important to read and understand LinkedIn’s full User Agreement and Professional Community Policies to avoid any violations that could lead to account restrictions or legal repercussions.
How to Report Prohibited Activities
If you see prohibited content or behavior on LinkedIn, you can report it to keep the community safe and professional. Here are ways to report violations:
- Use the LinkedIn reporting feature – Click the “more” icon on a post or profile and select “report.”
- Contact LinkedIn Customer Service – File a complaint through LinkedIn Help.
- Report to proper authorities – For serious legal or criminal violations, contact law enforcement or appropriate agencies.
By reporting inappropriate activity when you see it, you help maintain the integrity and value of the LinkedIn platform.
Best Practices for Compliance
To ensure you comply with LinkedIn policies, keep these best practices in mind:
- Read and follow all terms of service and community guidelines.
- Only post original content you have rights to share.
- Be professional – don’t attack, bully or use offensive language.
- Build connections authentically, based on real relationships.
- Do not use bots or other automation methods on LinkedIn.
- Use common sense – if it violates ethics or feels wrong, don’t do it.
- When in doubt, reach out to LinkedIn Customer Service.
LinkedIn’s Review and Enforcement
LinkedIn uses both automated systems and manual reviewers to monitor activity and enforce policies:
- Automated systems – AI and machine learning quickly detect and take action on spam, fake accounts, scraping, and other clear violations.
- Manual reviewers – LinkedIn staff thoroughly review more nuanced cases that require human judgment.
- Member reporting – User reporting of policy violations helps guide manual reviews.
- Profile and activity monitoring – Ongoing monitoring aims to detect bad behavior even without specific reports.
Enforcement measures focus on correcting policy breaches and maintaining community integrity rather than punishing members. However, repeated or egregious violations can lead to permanent account termination.
Conclusion
LinkedIn promotes constructive dialogue, authentic networking and lawful conduct by prohibiting inappropriate content, dishonest behavior, intellectual property violations and other unprofessional activity. All members should understand and adhere to LinkedIn’s user policies so the platform can maintain its reputation as a safe and valuable networking resource.
