LinkedIn in Russia Taken Offline by Government Regulator Roskomnadzor

LinkedIn has confirmed the block in a statement issued to TechCrunch: “LinkedIn's vision is to create economic opportunity for the entire global workforce. We are starting to hear from members in Russia that they can no longer access LinkedIn. 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. We remain interested in a meeting with Roskomnadzor to discuss their data localization request.” As we previously reported, Roskomnadzor initiated the legal procedure against LinkedIn earlier this year due to a new legislation regarding the storage of personal data. The new law requires that the personal data of the Russian citizens needs to be stored on servers located physically in Russia. According to Roskomnadzor, LinkedIn didn't provide any “substantial answer” to its two inquiries. However, LinkedIn defended itself stating that the Russian legislation does not apply to its users due to their location. The company argued that its users “are factually located in the [virtual space] outside the Russian Federation, and provide their personal data there”. LinkedIn denied that it violates any Russian users' rights since the users voluntarily accept the site's terms of use.

Much room for speculation

Still, it seems that LinkedIn failed to meet the requirements set by Roskomnadzor. There is yet no official statement from the company, leaving much to be speculated. TechCrunch also reports that LinkedIn tried to meet with Roskomnadzor on Friday, November 11. It is not clear if the last minute meeting was a ploy to buy more time or if the company maybe wanted to negotiate an exception. Upon the initial passing of the new legislation, some companies failed to meet the deadline to comply with the law. Those that haven't already complied with the terms, announced ongoing projects to do so. Companies like Alibaba, Apple and Google have transferred the user data from foreign data centers to Russia. Why LinkedIn failed to do so remains a mystery. LinkedIn is also a part of another legal matter, this time regarding its acquisition by Microsoft. Regulators in Europe are reportedly concerned by Microsoft's LinkedIn purchase. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff raised multiple concerns regarding the purchase after the bidding war. A report suggested LinkedIn was in talks with companies to offer limited data.