LinkedIn, the last remaining US social network site in China, has decided to pull out of the country because of censorship issues.
The localised version of LinkedIn in China was launched in February 2014. LikedIn is now owned by Microsoft, who purchased the company in 2016 for $26.2 billion. China was LinkedIn’s third largest market.
In a blog post, Mohak Shroff, Senior Vice-President of Engineering, wrote: “We recognised that operating a localised version of LinkedIn in China would mean adherence to requirements of the Chinese government on internet platforms. While we strongly support freedom of expression, we took this approach in order to create value for our members in China and around the world. We also established a clear set of guidelines to follow should we ever need to re-evaluate our localised version of LinkedIn in China.
“While we’ve found success in helping Chinese members find jobs and economic opportunity, we have not found that same level of success in the more social aspects of sharing and staying informed. We’re also facing a significantly more challenging operating environment and greater compliance requirements in China. Given this, we’ve made the decision to sunset the current localised version of LinkedIn, later this year.”
Shroff said that the company will launch a new format, which will be devoid of the social sharing aspect and focus only on jobs application in China.
“Our new strategy for China is to put our focus on helping China-based professionals find jobs in China and Chinese companies find quality candidates. Later this year, we will launch InJobs, a new, standalone jobs application for China,” Shroff added.
“InJobs will not include a social feed or the ability to share posts or articles. We will also continue to work with Chinese businesses to help them create economic opportunity.”
Social media platforms and websites like Twitter and Facebook have been blocked for more than a decade in the country, while Google decided to shutter operations in 2010.
Wall Street Journal had earlier reported that Chinese internet regulator had told LinkedIn in March to better moderate its content and gave it a 30-day deadline. Last month, LinkedIn blocked several US journalists in China, citing ‘prohibited content’ in their profiles.
