hiQ Launches Crowd-Funding Campaign in Support of LinkedIn Lawsuit

(Disclaimer: I am CTO of hiQ) in relation to https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15012883 -- LinkedIn is appealing the ruling that allows us to collect public profiles from LinkedIn.

This is serious business. Microsoft/LinkedIn's position would allow them to be the sole arbiter of who can view, search, and analyze their customer's supposedly public-facing data. This case has major implications for how much power social media companies like LinkedIn and Facebook can accumulate without a feasible way for any new company to innovate and compete.

There is also the aspect of serious misuse of the CFAA and DMCA to bully startups off the playing field before they can gain any traction.