Microsoft to shut down LinkedIn in China

LinkedIn plans to launch a new standalone jobs app, called InJobs, later this year in China

Microsoft announced this morning that it’s shutting down the localized version of LinkedIn for China that has been available there since 2014. The move comes after increasing claims from academics and reporters that they’ve received notifications stating their profiles on the service are blocked in China, as reported recently by The Wall Street Journal.

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

It was the last major US-based social media site operating openly in China.

When it launched there, in 2014, it had agreed to adhere to the requirements of the Chinese government in order to operate there, but also promised to be transparent about how it conducted business in the country and said it disagreed with government censorship.

The company said its new strategy in China will focus on matching professionals with jobs. LinkedIn plans to launch a new standalone jobs app, called InJobs, later this year in China. The app won’t include social feeds or the ability to share posts or articles, according to LinkedIn.

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 the acquisition of TikTok by Microsoft, CEO Satya Nadella called it the “strangest thing I’ve ever worked on”.

Outside of GitHub and Amazon’s review system, LinkedIn was the only other foreign-owned platform allowed to host user-generated content in China.