If you’re a member of LinkedIn, you may be the star of one of their marketing campaigns and not even know it.  So says John P. Mello at PC World, who explains how some recent policy changes make it perfectly legal to use your image and name without asking — even pairing it with a third-party advertisers message:

About two months ago, LinkedIn made some under-the-radar amendments to the policy that [allow]:

“LinkedIn may sometimes pair an advertiser’s message with social content from LinkedIn’s network in order to make the ad more relevant,” the amended privacy states.

“When LinkedIn members recommend people and services, follow companies, or take other actions, their name/photo may show up in related ads shown to you,”…

And it also makes it easier for the advertisers to exploit the reputations of the service’s members to sell products those members may not endorse.

Don’t you think you should at least get scale?  But there’s good news if you don’t want to be part of LinkedIn’s marketing page. Follow the steps to opt out here.