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Social EmbedHigh complexity

LinkedIn Social Plugins

by LinkedIn (Microsoft)

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Sets cookies
No
Sends PII
No
Cross-site tracking
Yes
Consent required
Functional
Transfer mechanism
EU-US Data Privacy Framework

Overview

LinkedIn's JavaScript SDK for embedding social plugins (Share buttons, Follow buttons, profile badges) on third-party websites. Distinct from the LinkedIn Insight Tag - this SDK provides social interaction features rather than advertising conversion tracking. The CJEU Fashion ID ruling (C-40/17), while decided on Facebook Social Plugins, establishes the principle that website operators embedding any social plugin are joint controllers with the social network for the data collection triggered by the plugin.

Detection capabilities

Signature count
2
Detection methods
network
Property types
hostnamepathname

Performance impact

Performance Impact

Script size
25 KB
Requests per page
2

Common mistakes

  • 1Confusing LinkedIn Social Plugins with the LinkedIn Insight Tag - social plugins embed profile badges and share buttons, while the Insight Tag (px.ads.linkedin.com) is an advertising pixel with significantly different privacy implications
  • 2Loading the platform SDK without consent - similar to Meta Social Plugins, the CJEU Fashion ID ruling (C-40/17) established that website operators are joint controllers for data collection triggered by embedded social plugins
  • 3Not disclosing the joint controllership obligation in the privacy notice as required by Fashion ID (C-40/17)
  • 4Embedding LinkedIn profile badges on pages with sensitive content without assessing whether linking visitors to professional profiles is appropriate

Compliance considerations

Loads scripts from platform.linkedin.com and renders social plugin iframes. When initialised, the SDK transmits visitor data (IP address, browser metadata, page URL) to LinkedIn servers regardless of whether the visitor interacts with the plugin.

Consent: Consent required under ePrivacy Art 5(3). The Fashion ID ruling (C-40/17, 29 July 2019) on Facebook Social Plugins applies by analogy to LinkedIn Social Plugins - the website operator must obtain consent for the initial data collection phase.

Joint controllership: Fashion ID establishes that the site operator and the social network are joint controllers for the collection and transmission phases. A joint controller agreement under GDPR Art 26 may be required.

International transfers: LinkedIn (Microsoft) is certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. LinkedIn's European operations are based in Dublin (LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company).

CMP configuration: Categorise under functional or social consent and block SDK initialisation until consent is granted.

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