Yahoo! trying to dismiss human rights lawsuit

Author: Phil Cogar
Published: 29th August 2007
Comments (9) Stumble
Yahoo! trying to dismiss human rights lawsuit

Do you Yahoo!? You probably don't want to if you're living in China.

Back in 2005, Yahoo! was in hot water over releasing the names of its Chinese users to the Chinese government. One of the people that Yahoo! ousted ended up serving a stretch in jail over comments he had made in an email.

Well now all of that is coming right back to bite Yahoo! right in the ass.

The World Organization for Human Rights has filed a lawsuit on behalf of several plaintiffs against Yahoo! for "aiding and abetting" acts of torture and other human rights violations in a US Federal Court.

That's somewhat old news with the suit being filed back in April of this year but what's really stirring the pot now is the fact that Yahoo! is now trying to get that lawsuit dismissed.

On Monday, Yahoo! asked the federal court in San Francisco to dismiss the lawsuit stating that Chinese journalist Shi Tao and Wang Xiaoning, two of the many plaintiffs involved in the case, "assumed the risk of harm when they chose to use Yahoo! China email and group list services to engage in activity they knew violated Chinese law."

"Yahoo! deeply sympathizes with the plaintiffs and their families and does not condone the suppression of their rights and liberty by their government," the company said in its filing. "But Yahoo! has no control over the sovereign government of the People's Republic of China, the laws it passes, and the manner in which it enforces its laws."

Should the lawsuit not be dismissed, it will set a precedent for other US companies who operate abroad and how the obey both US laws and the laws of any country that they operate in.

Is Yahoo! right in saying that it did no wrong by complying with the Chinese government or does it deserve what it gets? Let us know your thoughts on this case over in the forums or in the comment section below.
Quote Neogumbercules 29th August 2007, 09:15
They kinda have a point. Yahoo, that is.
Quote DougEdey 29th August 2007, 09:20
This is ridiculous, Google wouldn't do it, they only changed their search engine to allow people to use them.

Isn't the data governed by the country in which it is stored?
Quote sunny_man 29th August 2007, 09:49
Any company that is complying with China's government's anti-privacy laws is, frankly, evil. They don't care what liberties of the people they have to give up as long as they get their money.

Companies like Yahoo are sheep in China. All they do is bend over and get ****** in the arse by the government - and they enjoy it.
Quote Woodstock 29th August 2007, 09:52
talk about murky waters
Quote yakyb 29th August 2007, 10:37
very complex arguement i see the point that yahoo holds but i beleive they were in a no win situation here as had they not given the names up they would be under fire from the chinese government for not doing so i think the best bet would for of yahoo to have monitored its chinese members better and not allowed them to do this as it is illegal in that particular country whether we like it or not
Quote mikeuk2004 29th August 2007, 11:43
Quote:
Originally Posted by sunny_man
Any company that is complying with China's government's anti-privacy laws is, frankly, evil. They don't care what liberties of the people they have to give up as long as they get their money.

Companies like Yahoo are sheep in China. All they do is bend over and get ****** in the arse by the government - and they enjoy it.

Either that or Jail. When im in China on holiday I try extra hard to think before I surf and post messages etc because I dont want to get my wifes family in trouble from using their PC. Its hard going 3 weeks with no porn either :)
Quote DXR_13KE 29th August 2007, 12:20
this is indeed a complex case.....
Quote Rebourne 30th August 2007, 05:29
What possible argument could yahoo have that is good enough? They aided in sending people behind bars for speaking their minds about their government. The Chinese government sucks and so does yahoo.

Blah blah blah, We have to comply with the law where we operate... Show some goddamn balls and do what's right.
Quote Aankhen 30th August 2007, 15:04
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rebourne
Blah blah blah, We have to comply with the law where we operate... Show some goddamn balls and do what's right.
That's easy to say when it's not your neck on the line.

It wasn't right to release those details, but Yahoo! did not have a choice. The place where it has/had a choice is/was in whether it operates/operated in China or not. I think in its place I would have chosen to operate either on my own terms or not at allÂ… but I can't say for sure without actually encountering that situation.
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