LinkedIn to share data for ‘research’

Social media site says strict security will prevent misuse.

times led to improvements in the site.

For instance, Tufts University researcher Laura Gee used LinkedIn data to determine that for job postings that seemed more attractive to men, women could Once, Facebook allowed be encouraged to apply if academic researchers access the ads included informato its data. We know how that tion on the current number story ends: with the Cam- of other applicants. bridge Analytica scandal. LinkedIn said it has used

Now LinkedIn, the prothis insight to help customers fessional social network- improve their job postings. ing site owned by MicroIn addition, the chance to soft, says it will open its vast collaborate with outside acatrove of data to academic demics on interesting projresearchers. ects helps LinkedIn motivate

But the company, whose and retain its own internal chief data officer, Igor data scientists, Perisic said. Perisic, made the announceThe company is calling for ment in a blog post Monday, academics to submit projsaid it’s putting controls in ect ideas in three broad place to protect user privacy. areas: analytics, econom

The data will be restricted ics and artificial intelligence. to only those whose acaIt will select teams on a rolldemic proposals have been ing basis, Perisic said, with approved. The researchprobably no more than a ers will only have access to dozen teams being allowed aggregate, anonymized data to access to the data at one and will only be able to use time. it within a secure “sandbox,” The initiative, called the Perisic wrote. That means LinkedIn Economic Graph they won’t be able to down- Research Program, is an load the data themselves. expansion of an earlier col

The academics will not laboration with outside ecobe able to “obtain or retain nomics researchers that the data beyond the scope of the company created in 2015. research project,” LinkedIn That effort resulted in sevsaid. eral path-breaking findings,

I ts le g al a nd security the company said. teams will vet all proposFor example, researchers als to access the data, and from the World Economic only projects related to “eco- Forum used LinkedIn’s data nomic opportunity with an to explore the gender gap. eye toward enabling a level Jessica Jeffers, an assistant playing field for economic professor of finance at the outcomes” will be approved. University of Chicago, used

Perisic said in an inter- LinkedIn data to examine view late last week the com- the impact of non-compete pany was mostly looking to agreements, determining advance the state of knowl- that they hurt new firms edge about the labor mar- and entrepreneurship. ket and the economy. “This Other academics currently is not about having a direct in the LinkedIn program product impact,” he said. are looking at what factors But he said that in the past, contribute to team success LinkedIn’s collaboration and testing theories about with academics has some- on-the-job retraining.