Microsoft will 'sunset' LinkedIn for China, and replace it with an app lacking social media features

Microsoft announced this morning that it is discontinuing the local version of LinkedIn for China that has been available there since 2014. The move comes after a surge of claims by academics and journalists that they have received information that their profiles on the service are blocked in China. , as recently reported by The Wall Street Journal.

In its blog post announcing plans and moves to launch a new China-only standalone product called InJobs, Microsoft did not directly reference those reports. Instead, it says:

While we have had success in helping Chinese members find jobs and economic opportunities, we have not had the same level of success in the more social aspects of sharing and staying informed. We are also facing a significantly more challenging operating environment and greater compliance requirements in China.

Today, The Wall Street Journal reports that the Chinese government instructed Microsoft to better regulate its content in March, with a 30-day deadline.

Last year when the Trump administration tried to arrange for the acquisition of TikTok by Microsoft (CEO Satya Nadella called it "the weirdest thing I've worked on"), the company's "huge soft power" in the country made it possible. made. was part of. . Outside of GitHub and Amazon's review systems, LinkedIn was the only other foreign-owned platform allowed to host user-generated content in China.

Twitter and Facebook have been blocked in China since 2009, while Google moved its search operations from mainland China to Hong Kong in 2010. Meanwhile, Microsoft has cleaned up Chinese language search results on Bing and introduced a customized version of Windows 10. However, as China's government broadens crackdown on tech giants affecting gaming, ride-sharing, cryptocurrency and more, its requests apparently prompted Microsoft to self-evaluate its LinkedIn operations. The detection limit has been exceeded. Apple continues to operate unrestricted in the country.