Linked In On Shaky Ground In China

It appears the Chinese authorities are now getting jittery about Linked In and blocking access and then partly opening the gates again over Thursday and Friday..

Obviously, yet again, they are terrified of free speech and online networking.

But here at AALE we also suggest that it’s a form of online trade war.. It wasn’t long, via Linked In ironically that we learnt about a similar Chinese service..

Below is the announcement for the Chinese service and note that you are banned from discussing politics…and then below that we publish what Huffington Post have written about the blocking of Linked In

Group: Lawyer & China
Subject: LinkedIn blocked in China Today
Dear members,

Following Facebook, Twitter and YouTube etc, LinkedIn has been blocked in China today (Feb.25).

Should you be interested in networking with Chinese business circles and exploring business opportunities in China, I?d like to recommend ?Investee? for you as a provisional alternative.

Investee ( http://www.investee.biz/ ) is a Chinese business SNS Website dedicated to facilitating Chinese businessmen to communicate & cooperate with their counterparts worldwide.

Investee has developed two system languages (English & Chinese) available for its users. Particularly, Investee enables users conveniently share their Investee posts on Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter etc.

However, Investee is only for business; discussions in connection with politics are not allowed on it.

It is highly appreciated if you?d like to share the message with your contacts who are possibly affected.

Best wishes,

Group managers: Shen Linchang
Co-founder of Investee
http://www.investee.biz/
Suite 808, Zhangyang Road 707, Shanghai
Cell 🙁 86) 15000355201
Skype: charlie_soas

?

Huffington Post article….

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/24/linkedin-blocked-in-china_n_827601.html

Social networking service LinkedIn appears to be the latest casualty in the Chinese government’s crackdown on social media sites as part of efforts to prevent protests from spreading to the P.R.C.

Several users in China told Reuters that access to LinkedIn was disrupted on Thursday. A user in Beijing confirmed for The Huffington Post that LinkedIn could not be accessed.

Twitterers also noted that the social networking site was unavailable within China. “Can absolutely confirm LinkedIn block,” tweeted @NnamdiJr, together with screenshots contrasting attempts to access the website with and without using proxies, which allow a user to bypass China’s “Great Firewall.”

The Chinese government has already blocked other social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, and users had reportedly turned to LinkedIn to share information about coordinating protests.

The Wall Street Journal wrote, “some people reported getting messages about the attempts to organize antigovernment protests via LinkedIn.”

China’s officials have also cracked down on Chinese social networks, such as Renren, by blocking certain search queries and preventing users from posting status updates containing terms deemed sensitive.

UPDATE: A spokesperson from LinkedIn told The Huffington Post, “We are aware of the reports of a disruption to our service for our members in China. We are looking into the situation now.”