Microsoft to Shut down LinkedIn in China

Microsoft announced Thursday it is pulling the plug on LinkedIn in China nearly seven years after its launch.

As social media platforms and websites like Twitter and Facebook have been blocked for more than a decade in China, LinkedIn was the last major U.S. social network still operating in the country.

Microsoft said it would shut down LinkedIn due to a “significantly more challenging operating environment and greater compliance requirements in China.” Instead, the company will launch a job search site in that doesn’t have LinkedIn’s social media features.

The news comes after a Chinese internet regulator told LinkedIn in March to better moderate its content and gave it a 30-day deadline, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Last month, LinkedIn blocked several U.S. journalists in China, citing “prohibited content” in their profiles. The profiles of academics and researchers have also been reportedly blocked on the platform in China in recent months.

LinkedIn was launched in China in 2014 with limited features designed to adhere to stricter internet laws in the country. On the other hand, the new site, called InJobs, will not include a social feed or allow users to share posts or articles.