{"id":3781,"date":"2015-10-28T11:37:55","date_gmt":"2015-10-28T15:37:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ncjolt.org\/?p=3781"},"modified":"2020-06-04T20:53:33","modified_gmt":"2020-06-04T20:53:33","slug":"the-rise-and-fall-of-age-insight-linkedin-and-age-discrimination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/blogs\/the-rise-and-fall-of-age-insight-linkedin-and-age-discrimination\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rise and Fall of Age-Insight: LinkedIn, and Age Discrimination"},"content":{"rendered":"

Currently, LinkedIn has an estimated 380 million registered users<\/a>. As a professional network, LinkedIn requests pertinent information from users when they create a profile. Users are encouraged to list their industry, experience, and education. However, when listing work and education experience, users also list the time period and dates attended. However, unlike other forms of social networking, LinkedIn does not allow users to post their age<\/a>.
\nRecently, a browser extension called Age-Sight was introduced as a Google Chrome ad-on.<\/p>\n

The Age-Sight algorithm allows users to estimate an individual\u2019s age<\/a> when you visit their LinkedIn profile.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Age-Insight then displays the estimates on the LinkedIn profile page.
\nAge-Sight\u2019s developer, Juan Ramirez, who built the extension in his spare time, says the algorithm is fairly simple. The extension calculates it\u2019s best guess for an individual\u2019s age based on their graduation year and other incorporated data, such as their name. An individual\u2019s work experience and the number of jobs listed were also included in the algorithm. Within ten days of it\u2019s release Age-Insight received mixed attention from the tech world.
\nOne of the largest concerns with Age-Insight is the age discrimination that could follow. \u00a0Because LinkedIn is used almost explicitly for employment purposes, Age-Sight\u2019s potential application is alarming and could even be illegal. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 \u201cprotects people who are 40 or older from discrimination based on age.\u201d The law prohibits discrimination for hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoffs, training, fringe benefits, and any other terms or condition of employment<\/a>. While the Age Discrimination Employment Act does not actually prohibit an employer from asking an applicant about their age or date of birth, the law is in place to ensure inquires are for a lawful purpose<\/a>. Specifically, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has clarified<\/a>, \u201ca request for date of birth or age on an employment application is not, in itself, a violation of the Age Discrimination Employment Act.\u201d
\nIn 2014, it was estimated over half of LinkedIn users were over fifty-years<\/a> old. As a result, age discrimination became a topic for discussion among LinkedIn\u2019s legal team when Age-Insight was released. After Age-Insight was featured on influential technology website, Product Hunt, LinkedIn sent a cease-and-desist order. A representative for LinkedIn claims Age-Insight violates LinkedIn\u2019s terms of service. When Ramirez realized Age-Insight could be used for age discrimination he decided to shut down the extension.
\nHowever, because the software was made public, it may be difficult to take it back. LinkedIn provided, \u201cmembers who downloaded Age-Insight should uninstall it immediately.<\/a>\u201d
\nFurthermore, Age-Insight reveals an evolving trend in the tech world: applications that guess individual\u2019s age. Earlier this year, another online tool was released that estimated an individual\u2019s age and gender based on photographs. Microsoft\u2019s How-Old.net analyzes uploaded photographs, searches for faces, and then provides an estimate of an individual\u2019s gender and age<\/a>. How-Old.net is not limited to personal photographs and therefore could potentially possess similar age discrimination capabilities. As age-estimating technologies continue to emerge and evolve, employers must ensure their recruiting and hiring procedures follow the Federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 and their state\u2019s civil rights legislation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Currently, LinkedIn has an estimated 380 million registered users. As a professional network, LinkedIn requests pertinent information from users when they create a profile. Users are encouraged to list their industry, experience, and education. However, when listing work and education experience, users also list the time period and dates attended. However, unlike other forms of …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3782,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[51],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3781"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3781"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3781\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7267,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3781\/revisions\/7267"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}