LinkedIn temporarily pauses new sign-ups in China

People in China won't be able to sign up for new LinkedIn accounts for some time.

What you need to know

• Microsoft-owned LinkedIn has temporarily paused sign-ups in China.
• The move is done as Microsoft works to "remain in compliance with local law."
• LinkedIn says the move is unrelated to the recent attack on Microsoft allegedly done by state-sponsored hackers in China.

Microsoft's LinkedIn recently suspended new sign-ups for the social media network in China. LinkedIn said in a statement that it suspended sign-ups as it works to ensure that it is in "compliance with local law," though it did not clarify which local laws it was working to comply with when asked by CNN.

LinkedIn shared a statement earlier this week:

While we remain focused on our goal of creating economic opportunity for our members in China, we're temporarily pausing new member sign-ups for LinkedIn China as we work to ensure we remain in compliance with local law. We're a global platform with an obligation to respect the laws that apply to us, including adhering to Chinese government regulations for our localized version of LinkedIn in China.

The suspension of new accounts comes just after the attack on Microsoft's Exchange email servers. Microsoft claims that the attacks came from a state-sponsored group called Hafnium that's operating out of China. Despite the timing, LinkedIn told CNN that the recent decision to suspend sign-ups is unrelated to the attack on Microsoft.

LinkedIn is unique among Western tech giants in that it is allowed to operate in China. In contrast, Facebook and Twitter are both blocked in China.

LinkedIn has more than 45 million users in China, though the version of LinkedIn that runs in China is censored. Certain types of content are blocked on LinkedIn in China.