LinkedIn Closes Doors on Prostitutes, Escorts
LinkedIn does not want to be associated with people whose work employment or main source of income is that of being a prostitute or escort.
Early this week, the decade-old professional working site advised its 225 million members of the changes it made to its terms of service in a post on its site.
Whereas before LinkedIn only warned members not to use the site to promote anything "unlawful," this time it made its intentions loud and clear and to the point in the changes it made.
"Don't undertake the following. . . Even if it is legal where you are located, create profiles or provide content that promotes escort services or prostitution."
Apparently, when LinkedIn started, it was not aware or did not realise that prostitution is legal in many places, including India, Mexico, and parts of Nevada. In India, for instance, in just only a span of four years, LinkedIn members in that country now span a whopping 20 million plus. Who knows how much of them, if not all, are affiliated with the world's oldest profession.
"We took the opportunity to make it clear that local laws are not relevant to what we will or won't allow," Hani Durzy, LinkedIn's director of corporate communications, told NBC News.
As expected, members employed in such professions lambasted the changes.
"Legal prostitutes in Nevada are licensed and recognized by their county of employ as independent, taxpaying businesswomen," Sheri's Ranch, a brothel in Nevada, said on a blog on its company Web site.
"Nevada brothels are also licensed and recognized business establishments. These are legal businesses in reality, so why shouldn't they have a presence in virtual reality?"
With more than 200 million members scattered worldwide, just how would LinkedIn be able to manage monitoring its ranks when it comes to these professional employment?
"We get billions of page views every quarter. There's lots of activity happening on the site. Like most social networks and platforms, we rely on our community bringing things to our attention," Mr Durzy said.
And if forced, Mr Durzy hinted LinkedIn would be forced to delete a member's profile.
"I'm not saying we're going to do a purge, though we very well may," he said. "In a nutshell, as we become aware of profiles that violate our policies we will take the appropriate actions."
"Does that mean shutting them down on day one? Or giving our members the benefit of the doubt, and telling them that's a violation and you've got change it? There is no hard and fast rule. We take the appropriate action as necessary."