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BEIJING: Microsoft shutting down LinkedIn in China
BEIJING: 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 localised
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.”
‘Gross appeasement’
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.
Recently,
LinkedIn blacklisted several journalist accounts, including those of Melissa
Chan and Greg Bruno, from its China-based website.
Mr Bruno,
who has written a book documenting China’s treatment of Tibetan refugees, told Verdict he was not surprised the Chinese Communist Party
did not like it but was “dismayed that an American tech company is caving
into the demands of a foreign government”.
US
senator Rick Scott called the move a “gross appeasement and an act of
submission to Communist China”, in a letter to LinkedIn chief executive
Ryan Roslansky and Microsoft boss Satya Nadella.
China’s internet roams further adrift
It’s hard
to pinpoint whether LinkedIn’s move was driven by the pressure from China, or
that from the US. It could be both, as the Chinese government has been
tightening its grip over the internet, and meanwhile, LinkedIn has drawn
growing criticism in America for bowing to Beijing’s censorship rules.
LinkedIn
launched its Chinese version in 2014, hoping to tap into the country’s huge
market.
Seven
years on, it has struggled against local competitors and run into regulatory
problems. In March, LinkedIn was reportedly punished by the Chinese regulator
for failing to censor political content, resulting in a suspension of new user
registration for 30 days. Other than controversy over censorships, the platform has been used by Chinese intelligence agencies as a
recruitment tool.
In a
letter to the platform’s users in China today, President of LinkedIn China Lu
Jian pledges that the site will continue to “connect global business
opportunities”.
But
LinkedIn’s shutdown in China shows an opposite trend. The country’s heavily
controlled internet has drifted further away from the rest of the world, and
it’s increasingly challenging for global business operating in China to bridge
the deep divide.