LinkedIn customers say firm hacked their email address books

The customers asked a federal judge in California to bar LinkedIn from repeating the alleged violations

Professional network LinkedIn Corp was sued by customers alleging it appropriated their identities for marketing the site to nonmembers without their consent by hacking into their external e-mail accounts and downloading contacts' addresses.

The customers, who aim to lead a group suit against the company, asked a federal judge in California to bar LinkedIn from repeating the alleged violations and to force it to return any revenue made by using their identities, according to a September 17 court filing.

"LinkedIn's own Web site contains hundreds of complaints regarding this practice," they said in the complaint, which also seeks unspecified damages.
 

Julie Inouye, a spokeswoman for Mountain View, California-based LinkedIn, didn't immediately return a voice-mail message seeking comment on the suit outside of regular business hours.