The social network of professional contacts LinkedIn, which is owned by the American Microsoft, will stop operating a localized version of the platform in China amid increasing censorship on the Internet in that country, CNBC reports.
The company said in a statement that the social network faced “a much more complex work environment and stricter regulatory requirements.” LinkedIn will leave China before the end of the year.
Instead, Microsoft will launch a new service, InJobs, designed specifically for that country. The app will allow local professionals to look for jobs, and Chinese companies – good candidates, but it will not have a news feed like other social networks, or the ability to share publications or articles, Bloomberg reported.
LinkedIn began operating in China in 2014, with limited social networking functionality. In March of this year, the social network suspended registration of new users in the country, saying that it is working to ensure compliance with local laws. Earlier in the month, The New York Times wrote, citing sources, the Chinese regulator issued a warning to the service for “failing to control political content.”
In recent months, The Wall Street Journal reports, LinkedIn has notified several human rights defenders, academics and journalists based in China that their profiles have been blocked because they contain prohibited content.
The service had about 52 million users in mainland China.
In Russia, LinkedIn was blocked in 2016. The reason was non-compliance with the requirements of the law “On personal data”, according to which information about Russian users should be stored on the territory of Russia. In February 2020, Roskomnadzor said that the social network was not interested in unblocking in the country.
