Yahoo!`s Stand on Free Speech in China - When in China…
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What does this mean as far as Yahoo!’s situation concerning Shi Tao? Michael Callahan, senior vice president and general counsel of Yahoo!, testified concerning this case and other China-related issues recently in front of Congress. He spoke before the Subcommittees on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations, and Asia and the Pacific. In his testimony, he made a number of important points.
First of all, he laid out the facts of the case, which have been distorted in the press. For openers, when Yahoo! China was required to provide information about the user, the company “had no information of the nature of the investigation.” Indeed, law enforcement organizations do not typically explain why they are demanding information from technology companies—whether those organizations are located in China or the United States. Yahoo! China has rigorous standards in place as to when it will turn over information to law enforcement authorities.
According to Callahan, “At the time the demand was made for information in this case, Yahoo! China was legally obligated to comply with the requirements of Chinese law enforcement…Failure to comply in China could have subjected Yahoo! China and its employees to criminal charges, including imprisonment.” A responsible company does not expose its employees to that kind of legal risk.
Does that mean that Yahoo!’s hands were completely tied in the situation? In a manner of speaking, the search engine’s hands were tied the minute the company set foot on Chinese soil. Callahan recognized this point when he said that “Ultimately, U.S. companies in China face a choice: comply with Chinese law, or leave.” Realistically, no Internet company is going to leave—not with a market of 110 million Internet users to reach, a market that will continue to grow. Personally, I would very much respect the choice of any company that decided not to compromise its principles, and turned down that market. But I don’t see it happening in any field as cutthroat as the search engine market is proving to be.
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