LinkedIn to Launch a More China-Friendly App After Lax Censorship Charges
After facing censorship charges in China, LinkedIn took the decision to cater to the state's laws with a fresh proposal.
China has recently implemented restrictions on the US-based LinkedIn App, putting rocks in the steps of the company's ability to operate freely in the country. In a statement released today, Thursday, LinkedIn announced that they will be putting the app down and launch, instead, InJobs, as a more China-friendly and standard-compliant alternative.
Weeks before, China charged LinkedIn with lax censorship. According to Axios China Reporter Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, a number of US journalists' and researchers' profiles were blocked from the localized LinkedIn in China, citing "prohibited content."
The statement read that InJobs, which will be launched later in the year, will not include posting, sharing or any social feed. "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," the company noted.
The localized version of LinkedIn, which was launched in 2014 in China, however, was launched with LinkedIn's knowledge that it would have to maintain "adherence to requirements of the Chinese government on Internet platforms."