Overview
A U.S. federal magistrate judge has authorized the deposition of senior LinkedIn executives in an antitrust lawsuit that accuses the professional networking platform of monopolizing its market.
Judicial Orders
Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler of the San Francisco district ruled that plaintiffs may depose LinkedIn’s current chief executive Daniel Shapero for a four‑hour session and former CEO Reid Hoffman for a three‑hour session. The court found the plaintiffs satisfied the statutory requirements for questioning top corporate officers, rejecting LinkedIn’s request to block the depositions on the basis that the executives lacked first‑hand information.
Background of the Lawsuit
The lawsuit, filed in 2022, alleges that LinkedIn controls more than 97 % of the professional networking market and leverages that dominance to impose excessively high prices for its premium subscription services. LinkedIn has characterized the allegations as baseless and maintains that additional discovery will not alter its position. The case does not name Microsoft as a defendant, despite Microsoft’s ownership of LinkedIn.
Prior Settlement Attempt
In the previous year, LinkedIn proposed a settlement that would have required the company to modify certain business practices but would not have provided any monetary compensation to users. U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam Jr. in Oakland rejected this settlement, citing unspecified problems with the deal. Judge Gilliam has not yet ruled on whether the case can proceed as a class action.
Potential Class Size and Platform Reach
Plaintiffs contend that hundreds of thousands of users could qualify as class members. LinkedIn, which was sold to Microsoft for $26.2 billion in 2016, now boasts over 1.3 billion members worldwide.
Implications
The ruling permits deeper inquiry into LinkedIn’s pricing and market‑share practices, potentially shaping the trajectory of the antitrust case and any future remedial actions.