China calls LinkedIn executives on the carpet for not censoring enough

Microsoft has been spared much of the recent hubbub around moderating political posts in USA because they do not have a massive social network.

It seems in the USA lawmakers forgot about LinkedIn and its 740 million subscribers, but such scrutiny did not escape China, however, where the New York Times reports LinkedIn executives are in hot water for letting political posts circulate without enough moderation.

They report:

China’s internet regulator rebuked LinkedIn executives this month for failing to control political content, according to three people briefed on the matter. Though it isn’t clear precisely what material got the company into trouble, the regulator said it had found objectionable posts circulating in the period around an annual meeting of China’s lawmakers, said these people, who asked for anonymity because the issue isn’t public.

As a punishment, the people said, officials are requiring LinkedIn to perform a self-evaluation and offer a report to the Cyberspace Administration of China, the country’s internet regulator. The service was also forced to suspend new sign-ups of users inside China for 30 days, one of the people added, though that period could change depending on the administration’s judgment.

Microsoft of course does have to follow China’s rules when they operate there, but numerous other companies have chosen not to operate in China instead.

Given that Microsoft has set itself up as a major defender of democracy, do our readers think the company is being hypocritical? Let us know in the comments below.

via Techdirt