Microsoft's Bing suspends auto suggest function in China at government's behest

BEIJING (Reuters) -Microsoft Corp's Bing, the only major foreign search engine available in China, said it has been required by a "relevant government agency" to suspend its auto suggest function in China for 30 days.

"Bing is a global search platform and remains committed to respect the rule of law and users' right to access information," Bing said on its Chinese search site on Friday. It did not specify reasons for the suspension.

Internet companies in China have been hit over the past year by a regulatory crackdown that has imposed fresh curbs on areas from content to customer privacy. The Chinese government has also said it wants platforms to more actively promote core socialist values.

In October, Microsoft said it would shut down its professional social networking platform LinkedIn in China, citing "a significantly more challenging operating environment and greater compliance requirements” in the country.

(Reporting by Yingzhi Yang and Brenda Goh; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Edwina Gibbs)

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