LinkedIn is apparently being punished by Chinese internet regulators for not censoring aggressively enough — a particularly inopportune setback for the social media giant's parent company, Microsoft.
New LinkedIn signups in China were unexpectedly put on pause last week. Credit: Open Grid Scheduler / Grid Engine
Beginning last week, any professional in China trying to create a new LinkedIn account ran into an unwelcome surprise. LinkedIn, one of the few American social media platforms available in the country, froze all new sign-ups, preventing the company from expanding its huge Chinese user base of 52 million.
In a cryptic statement that produced a flurry of speculation, LinkedIn said it was temporarily pausing new sign ups while working “to ensure we remain in compliance with local law.” The company, a unit of Microsoft, did not specify what regulation was at issue.
The announcement was a setback for LinkedIn, which operates in China under an agreement that requires the company to play by the local rules — meaning, among other things, censoring posts the Chinese government deems politically sensitive. But now, LinkedIn is apparently being punished by Chinese internet regulators for not being aggressive enough in censoring those posts, according to a report publi
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