Privacy International (PI) has called on Internet users to boycott Yahoo over allegations that the Web giant provided information that helped Chinese officials convict a journalist accused of leaking state secrets.
Simon Davies, director of PI, described Yahoo's actions a "reprehensible" on Wednesday.
"This is a disreputable episode. Western companies are increasingly cutting deals with the Chinese government to serve their shareholders' interests at the expense of ethical governance," said Davies in a statement.
"A boycott would send a clear message to Yahoo shareholders and to other companies who cheerfully sacrifice human rights in return for a cut of the Chinese market," Davies added.
As previously reported, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said on Tuesday that Shi Tao, a 37-year-old writer for the Dangdai Shang Bao (Contemporary Business News), had been sentenced in April to 10 years in prison after being convicted of sending to foreign Web sites a "top secret" government message. The message in question was a warning to journalists of the dangers associated with dissidents returning to mark the fifteenth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
According to Reporters Without Borders, recently translated court papers revealed that Yahoo Holdings in Hong Kong provided Chinese investigators with detailed information that helped them link Shi's personal email account and a specific message containing the "state secret" to the IP address of his computer.
Yahoo has said it is investigating the charges.
CNET News.com's Jim Kerstetter contributed to this report.
Talkback
Why only yahoo? Why not also a boycott of google for censoring its news headlines (It could easily use a formula like: "Blocked site" to mark the stories the Chinese gov't is blocking)?
The problem is not this or that business. The problem is doing business with governments that do not respect human freedom rights. So long as this is legal, businessmen will do business as usual. The Chinese proverb says: "Businessmen only care about business." The Chinese government knows this and exploits it.
Just say no to profits? As if !
zdnet.co.uk quickly dropped this story. Here is what a Yahoo boss had to say if anyone cares.
"Yahoo Ordered to Share Reporter's E-Mail" by Elaine Kurtenbach, Associated Press, 10 September 2005
[quote] "Yahoo had to comply with a demand by Chinese authorities to provide information about a personal e-mail of a journalist who was later convicted under state secrecy laws and sentenced to 10 years in prison, the company's co-founder Jerry Yang said Saturday.....
"Yahoo earlier defended its move, saying it was obliged to comply with Chinese laws and regulations.
"The demand for the information was a "legal order" and Yahoo gets such requests from law enforcement agencies all the time, and not just in China, Yang told the forum." [/quote]
Germany's a big market said Yahoo billionaire Yang as he handed over the Jews, explaining that his company was obliged to comply with German laws and regulations.
Boycott Yahoo !!!
I won't even send an email to a Yahoo account.
These guys have really gone too far !!!
AP story: