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Russia: Gov orders internet providers to block LinkedIn

By  |  November 17, 2016

Russia has ordered internet providers in the country to block access to LinkedIn after the professional social network was found to violate data laws.

Technology companies operating in Russia are forced to store data about Russian citizens on servers in the country, and a court ruled last week that LinkedIn’s failure to do this should lead to it being banned.

Roskomnadzor, the Russian communications regulator, began ordering internet providers to stop public access to the website on Thursday. It is the first major social network to be blocked in the country, but possible sets a precedent for other websites that store data outside of Russia. Soon after the ban was enforced, millions began to be cut off and LinkedIn became the top trend on Twitter in Russia.

LinkedIn, which has around 6 million users in Russia, criticised the decision and said it had tried to discuss the matter with Russian regulators.

Full Content: Telegraph

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