LinkedIn is shutting down its social media site in China, marking the departure of the last major American social media company from the country.
The Microsoft-owned company announced Thursday that it was shutting down the localized version of its popular networking website after “facing a significantly more challenging operating environment and increased compliance requirements in China.”
LinkedIn has 53 million users in China, which is about 7 percent of its total user base.
Microsoft does not disclose how much of China contributes to LinkedIn’s revenue, which Microsoft recently said had spent a $ 10 billion annual level.
The company said it would replace the Chinese version of its website with a new job board service called “InJobs,” without any of the social media features of the full LinkedIn site. In this simplified version, Chinese users will not be able to share posts or news articles.
LinkedIn was called in by the country’s internet regulator in March and ordered to clean up its content online. In the same month, LinkedIn said it was “temporarily pausing new member subscriptions for LinkedIn China” while trying to comply “with local law.”
Several human rights activists and writers who focused on China have had their profiles blocked in the country in recent months for posting “prohibited content,” according to the company.