LinkedIn Settles ‘Spam’ Claims for $13 Million
LinkedIn, the blockbuster professional networking site, has agreed to pay $13 million to certain of its current and former members who used the company’s ‘Add Connections’ feature—a process that imports a member’s contact information from external email accounts and then invites the imported contacts to connect on LinkedIn via an initial email and up to two reminder emails. The settlement, which was preliminarily approved by U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh on September 15, 2015, provides awards for claimants of up to a maximum of $1,500 each depending upon the total number of approved claims.
In 2013, nine plaintiffs, on behalf of themselves and those similarly situated, commenced the class action in the Northern District of California, alleging that the LinkedIn Corporation “intentionally and knowingly created and developed [a] deceptive scheme to improperly use the names, photographs, likenesses, and identities of Plaintiffs for the purpose of generating substantial profits for itself.” Specifically, the plaintiffs claimed that after they signed up to use the company’s Add Connections feature, LinkedIn hacked into their external email accounts and extracted third-party email addresses and data to grow its member base. Thereafter, the plaintiffs contended that LinkedIn utilized the harvested information to send “second and third reminder endorsement emails endorsing its products, services, and brands” without the existing users’ consent in violation of: (1) California’s common law right of publicity; (2) California’s Unfair Competition Law; (3) the Stored Communications Act; (3) the federal Wire Tap Act; (5) California Penal Code; and (6) the California Invasion of Privacy Act.
On January 13, 2015, the parties participated in a mediation that ultimately led to the $13 million settlement of all claims. Despite entering into the agreement, LinkedIn denies that it committed any wrongful act or violation of law or duty alleged in the complaint. Further, the company maintains, “it has acted properly in allowing members to grow their professional networks on LinkedIn.”
Only those members who used LinkedIn’s Add Connections feature between September 17, 2011 to October 31, 2014 are eligible for payment under the agreement. According to the official settlement website, payments will be calculated on a pro rata basis, but if the number of approved claims results in payment of less than $10, LinkedIn will contribute an additional $750,000 into the fund. The deadline to file a claim is December 14, 2015.
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