Yahoo pulls out of China; cites 'challenging operating environment' after tech crackdown

Yahoo said Tuesday it has pulled out of China, citing an “increasingly challenging business and legal environment.” The company’s withdrawal coincided with the implementation of China’s Personal Information Protection Law, which limits what information companies can gather and sets standards for how it must be stored. Chinese laws also stipulate that companies operating in the country must hand over data if requested by authorities.

“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 November 1,” the company said in a statement. It said it “remains committed to the rights of our users and a free and open internet.”

Yahoo's exit is largely symbolic as many of it's services are already blocked by the Chinese government. The pull out follows moves by big tech leaders , Google 'gave up' on China and shut it's search engine in 2010 and Microsoft’s professional networking platform LinkedIn said last month it would shutter its Chinese site.