LinkedIn Wins Video Ads Lawsuits From Its Advertisers

LinkedIn wins lawsuit over video ads. (photo: doc. unsplash)

JAKARTA - A US judge has dismissed a lawsuit accusing Microsoft Corp's LinkedIn of inflating the number of people watching video ads so the networking platform could charge hundreds of thousands of advertisers.

In a decision Monday, December 27, US Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen said that while some of LinkedIn's statements may be misleading, the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate their inadequate legal remedies before suing under two California laws that offer only fair relief. such as restitution.

The San Jose, California-based judge also said LinkedIn had no implied obligation to provide "accurate advertising metrics," citing his disclaimer that the data was not responsible for click fraud or illicit third-party activity that could affect advertising costs.

Advertisers in the proposed class action accuse LinkedIn of inflating its metrics by counting video ad "views" from users' LinkedIn apps. Even when the video just plays off-screen as the user scrolls through it.

The lawsuit began after LinkedIn said in November 2020 that its engineers had fixed a software bug that might have caused more than 418.000 overcharges, most of them under $25. LinkedIn says it gives credit to nearly all affected advertisers.

Judge van Keulen in August dismissed some of the advertisers' claims, while he let others continue their case.

Monday's court decision is final, meaning the lawsuit led by advertisers TopDevz Inc of Sacramento, California, and Noirify Inc of Chicago can no longer be brought. LinkedIn is based in Sunnyvale, California.

Lawyers for the advertisers did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Tuesday, December 28. LinkedIn and its attorneys did not immediately respond to a similar request.

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