Suspension of 30 days, company does not specify the reasons
(ANSA) – BEIJING, DECEMBER 17 – Microsoft Corp’s Bing, the only large foreign search engine available in China, said it had received a request from a “competent government agency” to suspend its auto-suggest function for 30 days. “Bing is a global search platform and remains committed to respecting the rule of law and users’ right to access information,” Bing reported on its Chinese website, without specifying the reasons for the suspension. Internet companies in China have been hit in the past year by a regulatory crackdown that has imposed new limits on areas from content to customer privacy. The Chinese government has also said it wants platforms to more actively promote the core values of socialism. In October, Microsoft said it would shut down its LinkedIn professional social networking platform in China, citing “a significantly more challenging operating environment and increased compliance requirements” in the country. (HANDLE).