Kill China cases, Yahoo demands
p2pnet news | Freedom:- The last thing Yahoo needs is to have to give detailed evidence in court cases which claim it’s responsible for its users in China being sentenced to long terms in prison.
So the company is trying to have a lawsuit brought by two Chinese journalists, who allege it and its subsidiaries “willingly” handed over information about their online writing to the People’s Republic of China, dismissed, says CNET News.
“The case hinges on a lawsuit filed in April in the U.S. District Court for Northern California. Plaintiffs Shi Tao, Wang Xiaoning – two pro-democracy advocates – and Yu Ling (Wang’s wife) charged Yahoo and its Hong Kong subsidiary with allegedly divulging information about their online activity and pro-democracy writing to Chinese authorities, an act that ultimately caused their arrest and prosecution, according to the filing,” it says.
In a 51-page motion, Yahoo argued the case has no merit, says CNET.
However, the two dissidents wouldn’t agree. They’re each serving ten years in Chinese jails. And they blame Yahoo.
“This is a lawsuit by citizens of China imprisoned for using the Internet in China to express political views in violation of China law.,” says Yahoo in story, which goes on:
It is a political case challenging the laws and actions of the Chinese government. It has no place in the American courts.
But as CNET point out, Google, Microsoft and other US companies have also, “come under fire for their policies of cooperating with the Chinese government in recent years”.
Yahoo China and MSN China have signed a code of conduct which commits them to looking after the interests of China, including acting as state censors.
Also See:
CNET News – Yahoo files to dismiss China human rights suit, August 27, 2007
code of conduct – Yahoo, MSN, kowtow to China, August 28, 2007
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August 28th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
So …. Yahoo acceeds to state/sovereign terrorism, and then expects various aggrieved parties simply to shut the hell up?
Yahoo should bear the FULL brunt of U.S. scrutiny, if only for vacating ethics and morality (seeing as what Yahoo is doing they seem to be claiming is not illegal).
August 29th, 2007 at 12:43 am
although it is ethically wrong they do have a point. a US court is no place for this issue. no crime has been comited in the US. bad publicity yes but not a legal case.
at least china had to ask yahoo for the details where as the US can use its new wiretap program.
August 29th, 2007 at 3:31 am
Yahoo is incorporated in the US and if they are in violation of some US law… They should be screwed. Illegal international sex trade ‘vacations’ cannot be booked in the US. Slave labor cannot be knowingly used by companies even if it is overseas. However, they are also a large rich corporation so I’m sure they’ll bribe someone to get out of it.
August 31st, 2007 at 6:27 pm
Yahoo are following the law in China. Those people went to jail for breaking the law there. But as usual america doesnt respect other countrys laws.