Yahoo pulls out of China amid 'challenging' business, legal environment

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HONG KONG - Yahoo Inc. on Tuesday said it plans to pull out of China, citing an "increasingly challenging business and legal environment."

The company said in a statement that its services will no longer be accessible from mainland China as of Nov. 1.

"Yahoo remains committed to the rights of our users and a free and open internet. We thank our users for their support," the statement read.

Yahoo is the second large U.S. technology firm in recent weeks to reduce its operations in China. Last month, Microsoft's professional networking platform LinkedIn said it would shutter its Chinese site, replacing it with a jobs board instead.

Yahoo had previously downsized operations in China, and in 2015 shuttered its Beijing office. Its withdrawal from China is largely symbolic as at least some of Yahoo's services, including its web portal, have been blocked in the country.

FILE - In this photo illustration, a Yahoo logo seen displayed on a smartphone. (Photo Illustration by Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Yahoo also previously operated a music and email service in China, but both services were also stopped in the early 2010s.

Chinese authorities maintain a firm grip on Internet censorship in the country, and require companies operating in China to censor content and keywords deemed politically sensitive or inappropriate.

China has also blocked most international social media sites and search engines, such as Facebook and Google. Users in China who wish to access these services circumvent the block by using a virtual private network (VPN).