Microsoft is shutting down its main LinkedIn service in China later this year as Beijing tightens its internet rules. The company said in a blog post Thursday it has faced a "significantly more challenging operating environment and greater compliance requirements in China."
Microsoft is the latest American tech giant to lessen its ties to the country after years of trying to tailor its services to the demands of government censors.
LinkedIn said it will replace its localized platform in China with a new app called InJobs that has some of LinkedIn's career-networking features but will not include a social feed or the ability to share posts or articles.
Chinese regulators have been escalating a broad crackdown on the internet sector, seeking to exercise greater control over the algorithms used by tech firms to personalize and recommend content. They have also strengthened data privacy restrictions and expanded control over the flow of information and public opinion.
LinkedIn in March said it would pause new member sign-ups on LinkedIn China because of unspecified regulatory issues. China’s internet watchdog in May said it had found LinkedIn as well as Microsoft’s Bing search engine and about 100 other apps were engaged in improper collection and use of data and ordered them to fix the problem.
Microsoft, which is based in Redmond, Washington, bought LinkedIn in 2016. LinkedIn doesn't disclose how much of its revenue comes from China, but it reports having more than 54 million members in mainland China, its third-largest user base after the U.S. and India.
This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
