LinkedIn is facing increasing calls to suspend the account of Sam Wall, a 55-year-old digital marketing strategist from Cheadle who was sentenced to 28 months in prison on Friday after pleading guilty to stalking, harassment and malicious communications.
Despite her conviction and a court restraining order, Wall’s LinkedIn Premium profile – with nearly 27,000 followers – remained active at the time of writing.
Preston Crown Court heard that Wall’s “protracted, deliberate and calculated” campaign targeted motivational speaker Brad Burton and tech entrepreneur Naomi Timperley (pictured outside Preston Crown Court).
Judge Usher told Wall: “Her name has become synonymous with online stalking.”
Both victims, who were in court for the verdict, condemned LinkedIn’s inaction and accused the platform of failing to protect its users from harassment even after a conviction.
Brad Burton, a business coach and author with a large online following, wrote on LinkedIn shortly after the hearing: “LinkedIn management, shame on you. Disgusting. This case could have ended in a tragic outcome. Do something before you have to do something.”
Despite Burton’s public appeals, Wall’s LinkedIn and personal Instagram accounts (with more than 4,500 followers) remained active over the weekend, sparking outrage among users of the professional networking site.
Hundreds of users have joined calls for LinkedIn to remove Wall’s account, with many criticizing the platform’s apparent reluctance to enforce its own harassment policies.
Megan Codling, PR and marketing consultant, asked, “What is LinkedIn doing about it?”
Caroline England, tech entrepreneur and founder of Featherbed Tales, added: “LinkedIn, why haven’t you removed this account despite repeated requests and condemnation?”
Julian Wellings, video producer, said: “I still can’t believe the platform hasn’t acted. They need to do better.”
Other LinkedIn users described the situation as “disgraceful” and called on LinkedIn and parent company Microsoft to comment immediately.
Corporate photographer Arwyn Bailey said: “You say you take bullying and harassment seriously. Now it’s time to do something about it. You have allowed one person to destroy lives – the knock-on effect on families and businesses is immeasurable.”
Burton has since reported additional incidents of harassment on the platform, claiming that another LinkedIn user – Jackie Robinson – began perpetuating Wall’s campaign less than 24 hours after her conviction.
In a lengthy post published on Monday, he said evidence had been provided to Lancashire Police and LinkedIn’s security team and that his legal representatives and local MP Gideon Amos OBE had been notified.
“If we cannot address this sensibly today,” Burton wrote, “this case proves how insidiously rigged this platform is for an everyday person facing a campaign of legally proven lies.”
I’d rather spend my Monday focusing on healing, not fighting – again.”
Using the hashtag #Gangstalking, he shared links to other posts and videos in which he alleged ongoing stalking behavior.
The case has renewed concerns about LinkedIn’s moderation policies and its response to harassment on what is often considered the most “professional” social network.
While meta,
Daily Sparkz has reached out to LinkedIn for comment.
