Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, Jun 01, 2025

LinkedIn is using AI to spot and remove inappropriate user accounts

LinkedIn is using AI to spot and remove inappropriate user accounts

LinkedIn says it is using AI and machine learning to spot accounts containing content that runs afoul of its community guidelines.
Social networks including Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest tap AI and machine learning systems to detect and remove abusive content, as does LinkedIn. The Microsoft-owned platform -which has over 660 million users, 303 million of whom are active monthly -today detailed its approach to handling profiles containing inappropriate content, which ranges from profanity to advertisements for illegal services.

As software engineer Daniel Gorham explained in a blog post, LinkedIn initially relied on a block list -a set of human-curated words and phrases that ran afoul of its Terms of Service and Community Guidelines -to identify and remove potentially fraudulent accounts. However, maintaining it required a significant amount of engineering effort, and the list tended to handle context rather poorly. (For instance, while the word “escort” was sometimes associated with prostitution, it was also used in contexts like a “security escort” or “medical escort.”)

This motivated LinkedIn to adopt a machine learning approach involving a convolutional neural network -a class of algorithm commonly applied to imagery analysis -trained on public member profile content. The content in question contained accounts labeled as either “inappropriate” or “appropriate,” where the former comprised accounts removed due to inappropriate content as spotted using the block list and a manual review. Gorham notes that only a “very small” portion of accounts have every been restricted in this way, which necessitated downsampling from the entire LinkedIn member base to obtain the “appropriate” labeled accounts and prevent algorithmic bias.

To further tamp down on bias, LinkedIn identified problematic words responsible for high levels of false positives and sampled appropriate accounts from the member base containing these words. The accounts were then manually labeled and added to the training set, after which the model was trained and deployed in production.

Gorham says the abusive account detector scores new accounts daily, and that it was run on the existing member base to identify old accounts containing inappropriate content. Going forward, LinkedIn intends to use Microsoft translation services to ensure consistent performance across all languages, and to refine and expand the training set to increase the scope of content it is able to identify with the model.

“Detecting and preventing abuse on LinkedIn is an ongoing effort requiring extensive collaboration between multiple teams,” wrote Gorham. “Finding and removing profiles with inappropriate content in an effective, scalable manner is one way we’re constantly working to provide a safe and professional platform.”

LinkedIn’s uses of AI extend beyond abusive content detection. In October 2019, it pulled back the curtains on a model that automatically generates text descriptions for images uploaded to LinkedIn, achieved using Microsoft’s Cognitive Services platform and a unique LinkedIn-derived data set. Separately, its Recommended Candidates feature learns the hiring criteria for a given role and automatically surfaces relevant candidates in a dedicated tab. And its AI-driven search engine leverages data such as the kinds of things people post on their profiles and the searches that candidates perform to produce predictions for best-fit jobs and job seekers.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
UAE Offers Free ChatGPT Plus Subscriptions to Citizens
Lebanon Initiates Plan to Disarm Palestinian Factions
Iran and U.S. Make Limited Progress in Nuclear Talks
The Daily Debate: The Fall of the Dollar — Strategic Reset or Economic Self-Destruction?
Trump Administration's Tariff Policies and Dollar Strategy Spark Global Economic Debate
OpenAI Acquires Jony Ive’s Startup for $6.5 Billion to Build a Revolutionary “Third Core Device”
Turkey Weighs Citizens in Public as Erdoğan Launches National Slimming Campaign
Saudi-Spanish Business Forum Commences in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia and Spain Sign MoU to Boost SME Sectors
UK Suspends Trade Talks with Israel Amid Gaza Offensive
Iran and U.S. Set for Fifth Round of Nuclear Talks Amid Rising Tensions
Russia Expands Military Presence Near Finland Amid Rising Tensions
Indian Scholar Arrested in Crackdown Over Pakistan Conflict Commentary
Israel Eases Gaza Blockade Amid Internal Dispute Over Military Strategy
President Biden’s announcement of advanced prostate cancer sparked public sympathy—but behind closed doors, Democrats are in panic
A Chinese company made solar tiles that look way nicer than regular panels!
Indian jet shootdown: the all-robot legion behind China’s PL-15E missiles
The Chinese Dragon: The True Winner in the India-Pakistan Clash
Australia's Venomous Creatures Contribute to Life-Saving Antivenom Programme
The Spanish Were Right: Long Working Hours Harm Brain Function
Did Former FBI Director Call for Violence Against Trump? Instagram Post Sparks Uproar
US and UAE Partner to Develop Massive AI Data Center Complex
Apple's $95 Million Siri Settlement: Eligible Users Have Until July 2 to File Claims
US and UAE Reach Preliminary Agreement on Nvidia AI Chip Imports
President Trump and Elon Musk Welcomed by Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim with Cybertruck Convoy
Strong Warning Issued: Do Not Use General Chatbots for Medical, Legal, or Educational Guidance
Saudi Arabia Emerges as Global Tech Magnet with U.S. Backing and Trump’s Visit
This was President's departure from Saudi Arabia. The Crown Prince personally escorted him back to the airport.
NVIDIA and Saudi Arabia Launch Strategic Partnership to Establish AI Centers
Trump Meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara in Historic Encounter
Trump takes a blow torch to the neocons and interventionists while speaking to the Saudis
US and Saudi Arabia Sign Landmark Agreements Across Multiple Sectors
Why Saudi Arabia Rolled Out a Purple Carpet for Donald Trump Instead of Red
Elon Musk Joins Trump Meeting in Saudi Arabia
Trump says it would be 'stupid' not to accept gift of Qatari plane
Quantum Computing Threatens Bitcoin Security
Michael Jordan to Serve as Analyst for NBA Games
×