LinkedIn settles lawsuit in US
5 March 2015
Professional networking site LinkedIn has agreed to compensate up to 800,000 premium account holders to settle a class action lawsuit.
Thu, 5 Mar 2015Professional networking site LinkedIn has agreed to compensate up to 800,000 premium account holders to settle a class action lawsuit.
According to a New York Times blog post, the lawsuit alleged the site falsely assured members it used strong security measures to protect personal information.
The blog went on to say in June 2012, a file containing 6.5m encoded LinkedIn user passwords was posted on a Russian hacker website. The passwords had been protected with “a weak form of security”, the blog said.
There was no indication the breach had any disproportionate effect on LinkedIn users who were paying for the premium accounts but they argued the company had deceived them when they signed up.
Under the settlement, tentatively approved by a federal district court in Northern California in late January, 800,000 US users who paid for premium services between 15 March 2006 and 7 June 2012 are eligible to make a claim on the $1.25m (£820k) settlement fund.
After lawyer fees are deducted, the settlement works out to about $1 per user but only those who apply will receive a share. The deadline to make a claim is 2 May [2015].
A LinkedIn statement provided to Recruiter this morning said: “Following the dismissal of every other claim associated with this lawsuit, LinkedIn has agreed to this settlement to avoid the distraction and expense of ongoing litigation.”
The New York Times’ blog also noted another, continuing case involving LinkedIn scanning email contact lists of users and sending repeated invitations to those contacts to connect on the site. Last month, the company said it had tentatively accepted a mediator’s proposed settlement in the case. Details of the settlement are due to be filed in court by 24 March.
According to a New York Times blog post, the lawsuit alleged the site falsely assured members it used strong security measures to protect personal information.
The blog went on to say in June 2012, a file containing 6.5m encoded LinkedIn user passwords was posted on a Russian hacker website. The passwords had been protected with “a weak form of security”, the blog said.
There was no indication the breach had any disproportionate effect on LinkedIn users who were paying for the premium accounts but they argued the company had deceived them when they signed up.
Under the settlement, tentatively approved by a federal district court in Northern California in late January, 800,000 US users who paid for premium services between 15 March 2006 and 7 June 2012 are eligible to make a claim on the $1.25m (£820k) settlement fund.
After lawyer fees are deducted, the settlement works out to about $1 per user but only those who apply will receive a share. The deadline to make a claim is 2 May [2015].
A LinkedIn statement provided to Recruiter this morning said: “Following the dismissal of every other claim associated with this lawsuit, LinkedIn has agreed to this settlement to avoid the distraction and expense of ongoing litigation.”
The New York Times’ blog also noted another, continuing case involving LinkedIn scanning email contact lists of users and sending repeated invitations to those contacts to connect on the site. Last month, the company said it had tentatively accepted a mediator’s proposed settlement in the case. Details of the settlement are due to be filed in court by 24 March.
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