Linked Out

China's Internet censors have shown that even the most seemingly innocuous and apolitical of global social networking sites isn't safe from interference.

On Thursday, the business networking site LinkedIn was blocked for web users behind China’s Great Firewall, leading to a lot of head-scratching. Unlike Twitter and Facebook – both barred for Chinese users by the firewall since deadly riots in Xinjiang in 2009 – LinkedIn and its more austere format and content of professional business networking seemed safe. No so.

Since last weekend, when anonymous Internet users called for a Jasmine Revolution across China and demonstrators showed up in Beijing and Shanghai, Internet users have complained of slow connections and new interference. In some cases, virtual private networks, tools used to circumvent China’s censors, have been slow, spotty and unreliable. The government does not publicly acknowledge when it blocks new websites, so LinkedIn’s future in China remains unknown.

Update: LinkedIn was unblocked as of late Friday afternoon.