Dive Brief:
- Russia is banning LinkedIn because the company refused to comply with a law requiring companies, both foreign and domestic, to store Russian user data within the country, according to media reports.
- As a result, LinkedIn may lose millions of Russian users as soon as next week, according to CNET. Access to the platform for Russian users will be removed in the coming days.
- LinkedIn currently has an estimated six million users in Russia.
Dive Insight:
Country’s including China, Russia and the European Union are cracking down on where citizens’ personal data can be stored. CIOs that operate outside the U.S. need to know where their data is hosted to avoid violating personal data storage laws.
A law enacted last year requires foreign companies to store Russians’ personal data only on servers located within that country. While companies like Google, eBay and Uber are in the process of moving personal data storage to Russia, LinkedIn was apparently not moving fast enough. They are the first company to be singled out for violating the new law.
"LinkedIn failed to provide documents on moving personal databases to Russia,” said Vadim Ampelonskiy, spokesman for Roskomnadzor, Russia’s communications watchdog.
A statement released by LinkedIn said the company wants to meet with Roskomnadzor to discuss the law and expressed concern for Russian businesses that use the site should Russia carry through with banning it. "The Russian court’s decision has the potential to deny access to LinkedIn for the millions of members we have in Russia and the companies that use LinkedIn to grow their businesses,” the statement read.
