Munich, Germany — In a landmark ruling, the Munich Regional Court (Landgericht München I, Case No. 37 O 104/26) confirmed that the Digital Markets Act (DMA) applies to LinkedIn's relationships with both its business users and third-party toolmakers. The court further ruled that a tool like Teamfluence can export data from LinkedIn "without further conditions" where users have expressly permitted such export.
The ruling represents an important victory for Teamfluence OÜ, a company building sales tools for LinkedIn users, whose CEO Steven Morell is also a co-founding member of Fairlinked — Alliance for Digital Fairness e.V., a non-profit trade association representing professional and commercial LinkedIn users, toolmakers, and companies from 15 countries.
The court's finding carries significance far beyond the individual case. By confirming that DMA obligations apply to LinkedIn as a designated gatekeeper and that third-party tools have a right to operate within the platform ecosystem, the ruling strengthens the legal position of every company building products for LinkedIn's more than one billion users.
While the court confirmed DMA applicability and the fundamental permissibility of data export by tools like Teamfluence, certain questions remain unresolved and are now the subject of an appeal before the Higher Regional Court of Munich (OLG München). The appeal centers on three issues: how exactly GDPR compliance must be implemented in practice, which API LinkedIn is required to make available to third-party toolmakers under the DMA, and whether the APIs LinkedIn has provided to date, along with its failure to update its Terms and Conditions under the DMA, are sufficient to meet its obligations under the regulation.
"This ruling confirms what we have argued from the beginning: the DMA gives business users and their tools the right to access the data they generate on gatekeeper platforms,"
said Steven Morell, CEO of Teamfluence and co-founding member of Fairlinked e.V. "The remaining questions are about implementation, not about whether that right exists."
Fairlinked — Alliance for Digital Fairness e.V. is a registered non-profit association and DGA-registered Data Intermediary representing companies and toolmakers from 15 countries. The association advocates for non-discriminatory access to gatekeeper platforms under the Digital Markets Act.
Media Contact:
Steven Morell
CEO, Teamfluence OÜ
Co-founding Member, Fairlinked — Alliance for Digital Fairness e.V.