Microsoft has announced that it will be shutting down its Chinese version of LinkedIn due to the “increased censorship by the government of China.”
China has been strict on social media platforms and has blocked over 70 websites and social media platforms. Instagram has also been limited.
All the social media platforms from the United States of America (USA) had been banned in China apart from Linked In. It was the only US-based social platform that was still operating in China.
Twitter and Facebook were banned in China more than 10 years ago. Google shut down its operations in China in 2010.
Currently, China is the only country in the world with the strictest censorship rules on media and social media.
Microsoft said it would shut down LinkedIn due to a “significantly more challenging operating environment and greater compliance requirements in China.” Instead, Microsoft will launch a job search site in China that doesn’t have LinkedIn’s social media features.
LinkedIn launched in China in 2014 with limited features designed to adhere to stricter internet laws in the country. The new site, called InJobs, will not include a social feed or allow users to share posts or articles.
China had given LinkedIn 30 days to “regulate” its content or “have it shut”. Linked In says it has been difficult to operate in China.
During the month, Instagram (affiliated to Facebook) was ordered by the Government of China to limit the number of hours people could access to 2 hours a week. It was eventually shut down.
The same thing happened to TikTok. It has been ordered to limit the number of hours per week to two or risk being shut down.
Currently, all social media platforms in China are now illegal and those found using them are prosecuted. The country has its own versions that are strictly regulated by the government.