LinkedIn blocked the profiles of American journalists in China to comply with the Chinese government’s regulations. LinkedIn is the only major US-based platform allowed to operate in China after it agreed to comply with the CCP’s extreme social media regulations.
The journalists, whose LinkedIn profiles are no longer available for users in China, include Axios’ Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, who reports on China-related issues.
In a series of tweets blasting LinkedIn for the censorship of US journalists, Allen-Ebrahimian recommended that LinkedIn should allow users to create a separate profile for the Chinese version of the platform. She also encouraged Congress to come up with legislation to prevent platforms from conducting such censorship of journalists.
Others that have been blocked from the China version of the professional networking platform include Melissa Chan, a popular CCP critic and former China correspondent for Aljazeera, as well as Greg Bruno, who has written a book in support of Tibet.
In recent months, LinkedIn has blocked the profiles of many researchers, academics, and government employees from around the world from being viewed in China.
In a statement to Axios, LinkedIn said: “We’re a global platform that respects the laws that apply to us, including adhering to Chinese government regulations for our localized version of LinkedIn in China. For members whose profile visibility is limited within China, their profiles are still visible across the rest of the globe where LinkedIn is available.”
The Microsoft-owned platform refused to answer the outlet’s questions about the content it classified as “prohibited,” the Chinese law the “prohibited” content on the journalists’ profiles violated, and whether it had a list of prohibited topics it uses to block profiles in China.
LinkedIn is facing increased scrutiny over its censorship for China. Towards the end of September, Rep. Jim Banks sent a letter to the company demanding an explanation for the censorship of Americans and whether it had submitted any American user data to Beijing.
