LinkedIn Settles for $6.625M Over Inflated Ad Views

LinkedIn agreed to pay $6.625 million to settle a proposed class action accusing the Microsoft unit of overcharging advertisers by inflating the number of viewers for video ads on its platform.

The preliminary settlement, filed late Thursday in San Jose, California federal court, awaits approval by U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen.

LinkedIn denied any wrongdoing but agreed to make reasonable efforts over the next two years to hire an outside auditor to review its ad metrics.

Advertisers, led by TopDevz of Sacramento, California, and Noirefy of Chicago, accused LinkedIn of inflating ad metrics by counting video ad “views” from users’ LinkedIn apps, even when the videos played off-screen as users scrolled past them.

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The lawsuit was filed two weeks after LinkedIn disclosed in November 2020 that its engineers had fixed software bugs on the platform that may have led to overcharges affecting more than 418,000 advertisers, most of whom were overcharged less than $25. LinkedIn provided credits to nearly all affected advertisers.

Thursday’s settlement covers U.S. advertisers who purchased ads on LinkedIn between January 2015 and May 2023.

In a statement, LinkedIn said the settlement “underscores our commitment to the integrity of our ads products and providing a trusted platform for our members and customers.”

Judge van Keulen had dismissed the lawsuit in December 2021. Advertisers appealed but put the appeal on hold to mediate the dispute. The advertisers’ lawyers may seek up to $1,656,250, or 25% of the settlement amount, for legal fees.

The case is in re-LinkedIn Advertising Metrics Litigation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 20-08324.