LinkedIn 2013 Annual Report Download - page 26

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Please find page 26 of the 2013 LinkedIn annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

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Our business is subject to a variety of U.S. and foreign laws, many of which are unsettled and still developing
and which could subject us to claims or otherwise harm our business.
We are subject to a variety of laws in the United States and abroad, including laws regarding privacy,
data protection, data security, data retention and consumer protection and the provision of online
payment services that are continuously evolving and developing. In addition, some of our members are
subject to laws and/or licensing or certification obligations that may restrict their ability to engage with
LinkedIn’s online services. The scope and interpretation of the laws and other obligations that are or may
be applicable to us or certain groups of our members are often uncertain and may be conflicting,
particularly laws and other obligations outside the United States. For example, laws relating to the liability
of providers of online services for activities of their users and other third parties are currently being tested
pursuant to actions based on, among other things, invasion of privacy and other torts, unfair competition,
copyright and trademark infringement, and other theories based on the nature and content of the
materials searched, the ads posted, or the content provided by users.=. In addition, regulatory authorities
around the world are considering a number of legislative and regulatory proposals concerning privacy,
data storage, data protection and other matters that may be applicable to our business. Compliance with
these laws may require substantial investment or may provide technical challenges for our business. It is
also likely that as our business grows and evolves and our solutions are used in a greater number of
countries and additional groups, we will become subject to laws and regulations in additional jurisdictions.
Further, as our services and solutions expand to include more content (including from third parties),
additional laws and regulations may become applicable to our products and offerings including laws
requiring us to restrict the availability of such content on a geographical basis or to certain groups of
members. In some cases, laws and legal obligations of various jurisdictions may be ambiguous or conflict
as to LinkedIn’s right to display and distribute certain content as part of its online services. Users of our
site and our solutions could also abuse or misuse our products in ways that violate laws. It is difficult to
predict how existing laws will be applied to our business and the new laws and legal obligations to which
we may become subject.
If we are not able to comply with these laws or other legal obligations or if we (or our members)
become liable under these laws or legal obligations, we could be directly harmed, and we may be forced
to implement new measures to reduce exposure to this liability. This may require us to expend substantial
resources or to discontinue certain solutions, which would negatively affect our business, financial
condition and results of operations. In addition, the increased attention focused upon liability issues as a
result of lawsuits and legislative proposals could harm our reputation or otherwise impact the growth of
our business. Any costs incurred as a result of this potential liability could harm our business and
operating results.
We expect our operating results to fluctuate on a quarterly and annual basis, which may result in a decline in
our stock price if such fluctuations result in a failure to meet the expectations of securities analysts or investors.
Our revenue and operating results could vary significantly from quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year
and may fail to match our past performance, our projections or the expectations of securities analysts
because of a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control. Any of these events could cause
the market price of our Class A common stock to fluctuate. Factors that may contribute to the variability
of our operating results include:
• our ability to increase our member base and member engagement;
• disruptions or outages in the availability of our websites or services, actual or perceived breaches of
privacy, and compromises of our member data;
• our commitment to putting our members first even if it means forgoing short-term revenue
opportunities;
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