Last Thursday, Microsoft's (MSFT  ) LinkedIn announced it would be shuttering its operations in China, citing difficulties navigating Beijing's increased efforts to shape the social order and control communication online.

As the last American social media platform operating in China, LinkedIn's departure further widens the gulf between the "two internets."

In a blog post, Mohak Shroff, LinkedIn senior VP, said that LinkedIn's model in China, built on local control coupled with concessions to Chinese censors, had succeeded in creating professional value for its members. But he wrote that "we have not found that same level of success in the more social aspects of sharing and staying informed."

"[LinkedIn is] facing a significantly more challenging operating environment and greater compliance requirements in China," Schroff adds. "Given this, we've made the decision to sunset the current localized version of LinkedIn [in China]."

Microsoft will re-launch LinkedIn China as InJobs, a pared-back jobs board that will "not include a social feed or the ability to share posts or articles."

"China has introduced policies toward having more control over social media, and more control of content that's published...[LinkedIn's exit] is most probably linked to these new policies," Dev Lewis, a research fellow at Digital Asia Hub, told Fortune.

The so-called "LinkedIn model" had been touted as a way for American social media companies to skirt the Great Firewall and build a presence in the world's most populous country.

For a while, the model seemed to pay off for LinkedIn. China grew into its third-largest market, with 54 million users, a number trailing behind only the US and India.

However, in recent months Chinese regulators have taken high-profile steps to reign in the tech industry. In that light, Microsoft's missteps may have further exacerbated LinkedIn's regulatory difficulties.

Last year the tech giant participated in talks to buy -out the U.S. version of TikTok, something which did not play well in China. Meanwhile, earlier in the year, Microsoft credited hackers with ties to Beijing for a massive email breach, which China's government flatly denied at the time.

In March, LinkedIn paused new memberships to ensure compliance with local laws. In the following months, it came to light that LinkedIn had censored the profiles of China-centric human rights activists and journalists within the country.

Despite these and other regulatory concessions, in May, the Cyberspace Administration of China accused LinkedIn of illegal data collection. Shortly after that, the CAC issued new rules limiting the spread of"misinformation," more specifically "misinformation" concerning China's equity markets or the government's economic policies. Then, two days before LinkedIn exited, China's central economic planning agency issued new rules on private companies' ability to disseminate news online.

"[LinkedIn's exit from China] is proof that any model that includes media and user-generated content cannot survive," Lewis added. "For the long term, [LinkedIn's China exit] may mean that there is really no future for foreign-owned media in China."

Whatever the reasoning behind LinkedIn's departure, the platform's shutdown leaves behind some chilling implications. For without LinkedIn, the professionals who relied on it are essentially cut off from the rest of the global internet.

"It's sad to see the day that this platform was shut down because LinkedIn was the last platform that really connected mainland users and global users together," Lewis added.