Yahoo Quits China in Wake of LinkedIn Exit as Media Hurdles Grow

(Bloomberg) -- Yahoo, the dot-com pioneer that’s now part of Apollo Global Management Inc.’s media empire, is getting out of China because of the mounting hurdles to doing business in the country. 

“In recognition of the increasingly challenging business and legal environment in China, Yahoo’s suite of services will no longer be accessible from mainland China as of Nov. 1,” the company said in a statement Tuesday. “Yahoo remains committed to the rights of our users and a free and open internet. We thank our users for their support.”

Yahoo follows LinkedIn, the professional-networking site owned by Microsoft Corp., in decamping from China. That company said it was packing up last month, becoming the last major U.S. social media provider to leave. LinkedIn, which entered China in 2014, said it made the decision in light of “a significantly more challenging operating environment and greater compliance requirements in China.” 

Apollo agreed to buy most of Yahoo earlier this year as part of its acquisition of Verizon Media for $5 billion. Verizon Communications Inc., the U.S. wireless giant, had assembled that business out of longstanding internet brands, including Yahoo and AOL. Yahoo was once a dominant provider of online services, with the most popular website, as well as search and email offerings.

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