LinkedIn Shutting Down in China Due to Restrictions

Microsoft is shutting down its social network, LinkedIn, in China, saying having to comply with the Chinese state has become increasingly challenging.

It comes after the career-networking site faced questions for blocking the profiles of some journalists.

LinkedIn will launch a jobs-only version of the site, called InJobs, later this year.
But this will not include a social feed or the ability to share or post articles.

LinkedIn senior vice-president Mohak Shroff blogged: “We’re facing a significantly more challenging operating environment and greater compliance requirements in China.”

And the firm said in a statement: “While we are going to sunset the localized version of LinkedIn in China later this year, we will continue to have a strong presence in China to drive our new strategy and are excited to launch the new InJobs app later this year.”

LinkedIn had been the only major Western social-media platform operating in China.
When it launched there, in 2014, it had agreed to adhere to the requirements of the Chinese government in order to operate there but also promised to be transparent about how it conducted business in the country and said it disagreed with government censorship.