14 DAY TRIAL // Russia blocked access to LinkedIn last week, and while Microsoft’s struggling to resolve the problems its newly-purchased service has in the country, United States officials also step in to take the side of the Redmond-based software giant.
Maria Olson, spokeswoman at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, expressed public concerns that banning LinkedIn could set a dangerous precedent in Russia, as the country could then proceed to blocking other services as well. This could only harm competition and local users, she was quoted as saying by Reuters.
“The United States is deeply concerned by Russia’s decision to block access to the website LinkedIn,” she said. “This decision is the first of its kind and sets a troubling precedent that could be used to justify shutting down any website that contains Russian user data.”
Russia says LinkedIn can resolve its problems in the country
On the other hand, Russia says the LinkedIn ban can be lifted only if the service complies with regulations and moves data of Russia users on servers that are located within the country’s borders.
Russian Communications Minister Nikolai Nikiforov expressed in a statement that the decision to block LinkedIn was made by courts, and not by the country itself.
“We hope a constructive dialogue can solve this situation,” he was quoted as saying. “All foreign companies have to act in line with the law and there are many that have no problems with respecting the legislation.”
On the other hand, LinkedIn says that it’s indeed interested in lifting restrictions on its service and the company wants to meet with Russian officials and address the matter. LinkedIn previously said that it scheduled a November 11 meeting with Russia, but for some reason, this didn’t take place.
LinkedIn currently has 6 million users in Russia and whoever attempts to connect to the service these days is hit with a message saying that “Access to the resource you requested is restricted.”