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Microsoft is shutting down its LinkedIn operations in China.
The company stated it was due to “facing a significantly more challenging operating environment and greater compliance requirements in China.”
LinkedIn said it will launch a simpler version of its job board platform in the Asian country — a version without social media capabilities like the ability to share news stories or post opinions.
PRUDENTJ2 learned that, LinkedIn is the last major U.S. social media platform to end its operations in China.
In July 2009, China blocked Twitter, Facebook, and Google services following riots that broke out in Xinjiang, western China.
Google stopped its operations in the country in 2010 after refusing to censor its search results.
Clubhouse, the audio-only platform, was banned earlier this year.
China has local equivalents of these platforms like WeChat (Facebook), Weibo (Twitter), DouYin (TikTok), and Maimai (LinkedIn).
Maimai was founded in 2013; it raised a $200M Series D in 2018 at a valuation of over $1B.
In March, China’s internet regulator gave LinkedIn 30 days to better regulate the content it allows on its platform.
Recently LinkedIn blocked the accounts of several users in China without giving them an explanation.
LinkedIn released a statement saying though it supports freedom of expression, it also has to adhere to the censorship requirements of the Chinese government.
In May, LinkedIn and Microsoft’s search platform Bing were among apps listed by the Cyberspace Administration of China for improper data collection.
LinkedIn started operating in China in 2014 and had grown to over 50 million users in the country.
China’s market accounts for about 2% of Microsoft’s revenue.