LinkedIn, the business-focused social networking platform owned by Microsoft, has agreed to make temporary changes to its contracting practices to settle a class action antitrust lawsuit filed by U.S. users. The preliminary settlement, filed in federal court in San Francisco, requires LinkedIn to pause certain restrictive provisions in its business contracts for three years. The lawsuit, first filed in 2022, accused LinkedIn of using contract terms to prevent third-party developers from creating competing services, which allegedly allowed the company to overcharge users for premium subscriptions. According to the plaintiffs, these contracts allowed access to user data “in exchange for restraints against competing with LinkedIn.” Microsoft was not named as a defendant in the case, and LinkedIn denied any wrongdoing.
The settlement does not provide any monetary compensation to the roughly 9 million class members, LinkedIn users who bought premium services from January 13, 2018, to the present. However, the plaintiffs argued that relaxing the restrictive clauses would improve market competition, lower prices, and increase consumer choice. The plaintiffs’ lawyers intend to present expert testimony on the value of these changes during final settlement approval. They are also seeking up to $4 million in legal fees. Users in the class may opt out of the settlement to pursue individual claims.
