"LinkedIn Profiles Of US Journalists Censored In China, As A Troubling Trend Continues", 1 October 2021

A few days ago, Axios journalist Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian — who reports on China for the digital news site, in addition to writing the weekly Axios China newsletter — woke up to find an ominous-sounding message from LinkedIn waiting for her online.

Because of unspecified content and activity on her profile deemed unacceptable in China, LinkedIn informed her that “your profile and your public activity, such as your comments and items that you share with your network, will not be made viewable in China.” The social network offered that it can work with Allen-Ebrahimian to minimize the impact of this action, and that it’s also happy to review her profile’s accessibility in China if she updates her profile’s “Summary section.”

However, LinkedIn’s message then curtly shifted the onus back to her. “The decision whether to update your profile is yours.” [...]

That’s why this turn of events has drawn the ire of lawmakers like US Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida who sent a letter to the leadership of both Microsoft and LinkedIn on Thursday demanding answers. It reads, in part, “I am deeply concerned that an American company is actively censoring American journalists on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party. [...]

In a statement shared with Forbes, LinkedIn noted that “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.” [...]