LinkedIn has just released a first batch of applications that you can install "to enrich your profile". They are very similar to Facebook's applications but of course they are geared towards business users. Some of the applications look interesting but I doubt that the use of these types of applications is allowed by the Belgian privacy laws.

First of all, let me clarify that IANAL but in the past I have upset a number of my LinkedIn connections when I applied for free MOO business cards and as a result I have read the Belgian privacy laws.

So, what is the problem with LinkedIn applications?

When you add an application to your LinkedIn profile the following text is shown:

When you add an Application, you are allowing the Application developer to access profile information about you and your connections which the Application uses to provide the service.

This means that the developer of the application gets access to information about you and your connections. The former is no big deal, but the latter is. Belgian privacy laws do not allow you to disclose any personal information about other people without their prior approval.

There is a LinkedIn FAQ that states the following:

The Platform Developer Terms of Service restrict how these Applications can access this information, and Applications are contractually obligated to respect privacy settings.

This is all sounds very nice but it is immediately followed by:

This means that users of an Application will not be able to see information you've added through LinkedIn that they wouldn't otherwise be able to see simply by browsing the site.

So the "Platform Developer Terms of Service" document seems to talk about what applications are allowed to show to users, not what information developers are allowed to access. I couldn't find the "Platform Developer Terms of Service" document online so there's no way to verify what's in there.

The LinkedIn privacy policy also states:

... the level of detail accessible by the Platform Application is constrained by the same settings that govern visibility of your data to that user on LinkedIn.

But as a LinkedIn user I have no way to indicate whether my connections are allowed to give my personal information to any third parties. The contact settings allow you to indicate how/when people are allowed to contact you but there is no option that says "Allow connections to disclose my personal information to third parties" nor can I say "Show my email only to users X and Y but not to Z".

Bottom line: as far as I can see the use of these LinkedIn applications is illegal in Belgium. Or am I missing something obvious?