Yahoo Settles Jailed Journalist Case

Chinese journalists Shi Tao and Wang Xiaoning were arrested, abused, tortured and are now serving 10-year prison sentences. Their incarceration was due — in large part — to the co-operation of the internet company Yahoo! with the Chinese government.

It took the lawsuit by Human Right U.S.A to shine a spotlight on this issue, which then sparked Congressional hearings.

Some companies have avoided the difficult position of accommodating China. Google has kept its email servers out of the People’s Republic of China.
However in 2005, Yahoo! sold 40% ownership to a Chinese company, Alibaba.

Bowing to pressure from Congress last week, and legal challenges in court, Yahoo on Tuesday agreed to settle the lawsuit filed against it by Human Rights USA.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in April 2007, sought to hold Yahoo accountable for handing over identifying Internet user information of Chinese journalist Shi Tao and prodemocracy writer Wang Xiaoning to Chinese authorities.

The two journalists reportedly were abused and tortured. Both men are serving 10-year sentences under the charges of “subversion of state power” and “sharing state secrets….

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