Tech giant Microsoft is shutting down its social network, LinkedIn, in China

Microsoft and LinkedIn say having to comply with the Chinese state has become “increasingly challenging”.

The recent announcement comes after the career-networking site faced questions for blocking the profiles of some journalists.

LinkedIn will launch a jobs-only version of the site, called InJobs, later in 2021, however the new platform will not include a social feed or the ability to share or post articles.

LinkedIn senior vice-president Mohak Shroff blogged: “We’re facing a significantly more challenging operating environment and greater compliance requirements in China.”

In a statement, LinkedIn said: “While we are going to sunset the localised version of LinkedIn in China later this year, we will continue to have a strong presence in China to drive our new strategy and are excited to launch the new InJobs app later this year.”

Up until now, LinkedIn has been the only major Western social-media platform operating within China.