microsoft: Microsoft is shutting down LinkedIn in China, here’s why – Times of India

Social media platforms — that are widely popular — across the globe do not work in China. Be it Facebook, Twitter, Messenger, none of them are ‘allowed’ to operate in China. LinkedIn is the only major social media platform that’s not blocked in China. That won’t be the case anymore as Microsoft has announced it is shutting shop in China.
In a blog post, the US-based tech giant said that it is “facing a significantly more challenging operating environment and greater compliance requirements in China. Given this, we’ve made the decision to sunset the current localized version of LinkedIn, which is how people in China access LinkedIn’s global social media platform, later this year.”
An earlier report by The Wall Street Journal stated that the Chinese internet regulator had told Microsoft to moderate its content better. LinkedIn had blocked some US journalists in China whereas academics and researchers too complained about their accounts being blocked. China has always been cracking down on Big Tech companies and the likes of Facebook and Google have almost zero presence in the country. Apple is one of the few big US tech companies that continue to have a significant presence in China.
Microsoft isn’t exiting China completely as the company said that its new strategy will be focused “on helping China-based professionals find jobs in China and Chinese companies find quality candidates.”
For this, the company will launch InJobs, a new job application site for China. It will not have a social feed, which means users will not be able to share posts or articles. “This decision aligns with our commitment to creating economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce. While that has been our vision for nearly two decades now, it feels more important than ever as we all strive to build a global economy that delivers more prosperity and progress to people all over the world,” said Microsoft in the blog post.