LinkedIn has settled a lawsuit for $1.25 million that alleges the social network didn t do enough to protect the passwords and personal information of its paying users.
In 2012, hackers stole and published 6.5 million LinkedIn member passwords on a Russian hacker website.
The class action lawsuit, which was filed in federal court, claims that LinkedIn violated its privacy policy and an agreement with subscribers that promised it would keep their passwords and personal information safe.
Linkedin has denied the allegations and the lawsuit was settled to avoid the uncertainty and costs of an ongoing lawsuit.
The settlement means that thousands of LinkedIn users in the United States who paid for a premium subscription between March 15, 2006 and June 7, 2012 could receive money from the settlement.
These users can submit a claim for up to $50 by May 2. They can also exclude themselves from the settlement, object, attend a hearing about the settlement s fairness or do nothing.
An estimated 800,000 users could be impacted by the settlement.
Money remaining from the settlement will be donated to three nonprofits that deal with cybersecurity.
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
