LinkedIn blocked in Russia

Business-oriented social networking site LinkedIn will be blocked by the Russian authorities.

According to Russia’s media watchdog and communications regulator Roskomnadzor, LinkedIn will become unavailable in the country within 24 hours, with some internet providers already prohibiting access to the site. The decision was taken after a court found LinkedIn in violation of Russian data storage laws.

2014 saw Russia introduce legislation requiring social networks to store the personal data of Russian citizens on Russian web servers. Critics of the ban on LinkedIn fear that the ban is related to censorship, rather than data protection, and that this could lead to other sites such as Facebook and Twitter being blocked.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented at a press conference in Moscow that Roskomnadzor was acting in accordance with Russian law.

“Roskomnadzor’s action to block LinkedIn denies access to the millions of members we have in Russia and the companies that use LinkedIn to grow their businesses,” said a spokesperson for LinkedIn.

The social networking site told the BBC that it hoped to discuss the block with Roskomnadzor.

Source: BBC News