LinkedIn lawsuit settlement

LinkedIn, owned by Microsoft, has reached a $6.625 million settlement to resolve a class-action lawsuit alleging it overcharged advertisers by inflating video ad view counts. The settlement, proposed in a California federal court, claims that LinkedIn counted views even when videos were played off-screen, affecting around 300,000 advertisers who purchased ads from 2015 to 2023. While LinkedIn denies any wrongdoing, it has agreed to engage an external auditor for two years to review its advertising metrics. The initial lawsuit was filed in 2020 after LinkedIn acknowledged software bugs that resulted in over 418,000 potential overcharges, most of which were under $25. The settlement requires approval from U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen, who previously dismissed the lawsuit in December 2021, but the appeal was paused for mediation. Advertisers' attorneys may request up to 25% of the settlement amount for legal fees.