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LinkedIn may resume operations in Russia in fall 2017

ST.PETERSBURG, June 1. /TASS/. LinkedIn, the world's largest professional network, which was banned in Russia for violating the law on personal data localization, may resume operations in the country this autumn, head of Russia’s telecom and IT watchdog Roskomnadzor Alexander Zharov said.

"We have no relations with LinkedIn now. They have sent an official letter to us that in the near future they won’t be able to comply with the law. As far as I know, all formal issues will be solved by this autumn. Then, the new owner of LinkedIn will take the final decision whether he will localize in Russia or not," Zharov said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2017).

In September 2015, amendments to the law entered into force stipulating that the personal data of Russians can be processed and stored only in Russia. In November 2016, Roskomnadzor officially blocked LinkedIn’s website.

The LinkedIn social networking service was founded in December 2002 by US entrepreneur Reid Hoffman, who was vice president of the Paypal payments system. LinkedIn has more than 400 million accounts. In June 2016, Microsoft bought the website for $26.2 bln.