Collateral damage:
LinkedIn access in China disrupted amid protest calls
Reuters
Thu Feb 24, 2011 11:00am EST
* LinkedIn site unavailable in China, say users
* Disruption comes as China cracks down on protest calls
* Extended blockage could dampen IPO appeal - analyst
BEIJING, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Access to the professional networking site LinkedIn was disrupted in China on Thursday, following online calls on other sites for gatherings inspired by protests against authoritarian regimes across the Middle East.
Many users in China were unable to access LinkedIn, which is planning an initial public offering set to raise up to $175 million.
LinkedIn could be accessed as recently as Thursday morning, according to two regular users, one a Reuters employee and the other a business consultant, who declined to be identified.
Some users who later found they could not access it via the Chinese Internet said the site was however accessible via routes outside the reach of Chinese censors.
LinkedIn, with its relatively small user base of adult professionals, has been accessible in China through the local Internet service, unlike Facebook and other social websites with much larger numbers of users.
ANXIETY
The news of the disruption coincided with a rash of detentions and tighter censorship in recent days, underscoring the government's anxiety in the face of calls for "Jasmine Revolution" protests -- pro-democracy gatherings inspired by unrest in the Middle East.
If the disruption for LinkedIn is permanent in China, it could hurt the company's prospects at an IPO as a ban would exclude the company from the world's largest Internet market -- about 450 million users and growing.
"It certainly would be a negative in terms of the company's future growth and profitability," said Jay Ritter, a professor of finance at the University of Florida.
"This is something where investors would take it into account and be willing to pay a little lower price per share."
LinkedIn Corp, which filed last month to raise up to $175 million in an IPO either on the Nasdaq or the New York stock exchange, was not immediately available for comment.
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