Image Source: The Verge
By: Michael Argenta
October 17, 2021
With nearly 45 million users in China, LinkedIn has seen the power of connecting Chinese citizens to jobs and economic opportunities. However, with increased pressure from the Chinese government to block profiles and censor content, the networking giant has been forced to decide its future there. After seven years as the only major Western social media platform operating in the country, Microsoft has decided to shut down LinkedIn in China.
LinkedIn launched in China in 2014, promising to comply with government regulations relating to social media. Throughout the years, LinkedIn successfully promoted employment opportunities helping many people gain jobs or promotions. However, this is not the only mission of the company. In addition to career networking and development, LinkedIn strives to create a social environment for sharing articles and videos and helping users stay informed. Without the ability to fulfill its mission, LinkedIn loses millions of users in China.
However, this is not the complete end of LinkedIn in China. To comply and stay active, the company plans to launch “InJobs” in China later this year. This new platform will allow users to list and apply for jobs. It will not allow users to share or view media of any kind.
While InJobs will not allow LinkedIn to carry out its mission in China, it will allow the company to continue connecting workers with employers. Although this is not ideal, InJobs will still be a useful tool for the people of China.