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LinkedIn CEO, Co-founder Reid Hoffman Ordered to Testify in Monopoly Lawsuit
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered that current and former top executives at LinkedIn, including CEO Daniel Shapero and billionaire co-founder Reid Hoffman, can be deposed as part of an ongoing antitrust lawsuit. The suit accuses the Microsoft-owned professional networking platform of illegally dominating its market.
The Court's Ruling
U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in San Francisco granted the plaintiffs' request to question the high-level executives, rejecting LinkedIn's argument that they lacked unique, first-hand information. The company had contended that the information should first be sought from other sources.
Under the judge's order, the plaintiffs can depose current CEO Daniel Shapero for four hours and former CEO Reid Hoffman for three hours. Hoffman co-founded LinkedIn and oversaw its $26.2 billion sale to Microsoft in 2016. Judge Beeler determined the plaintiffs had met the legal standard required to question top corporate officers.
Details of the Lawsuit
The lawsuit, originally filed in 2022, alleges that LinkedIn unlawfully controls more than 97% of the market for professional social networking. The plaintiffs claim the company leverages this dominance to charge excessive prices for its premium subscription services. LinkedIn has dismissed the allegations as "baseless."
AdMicrosoft, which owns LinkedIn, is not named as a defendant in the case. The legal action is focused solely on LinkedIn's business practices and market position.
Next Steps and Background
This development follows a previously rejected settlement. Last year, LinkedIn agreed to a deal that would have required changes to some business practices but offered no monetary compensation to users. U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam Jr. denied that proposal, citing its shortcomings.
Judge Gilliam has not yet ruled on whether to certify the lawsuit as a class action, a key step that would allow it to proceed on behalf of a large group of users. According to court filings, the plaintiffs estimate there are potentially hundreds of thousands of members in the proposed class.
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