Yahoo reached an out-of-court settlement with families of Chinese journalists who were thrown in jail after the company revealed their identities to local police. But critics are still unhappy with Yahoo’s pseudo apology.
Digital Journal — This week, Yahoo executives agreed to an undisclosed settlement with families of two Chinese journalists jailed in China for dissidence, thanks to Yahoo turning over their identities to local officials. Yahoo is paying the families’ legal bills and setting up a fund to provide humanitarian and legal aid to those imprisoned for expressing their personal beliefs.
Yahoo said in a statement, according to BusinessWeek: “After meeting with the families, it was clear to me what we had to do to make this right for them, for Yahoo, and for the future.”
Regarding the humanitarian fund, Yahoo said: “We believe in the transformative power of the Internet. That’s why we are so committed to working to support free expression and privacy around the world.”
The settlement terms are confidential, which is prompting human rights groups to criticize Yahoo for failing to provide full disclosure. Amy O’Meara, director of business and human rights at Amnesty International USA, told the LA Times:
Because this agreement has been kept secret, we can’t be sure that Yahoo is taking the commitment to end censorship seriously.
The controversy centres on Yahoo’s decision, in 2004, to hand over to Chinese police the names of journalists who used Yahoo services in their work as democratic activists (previous coverage here). The information led to the conviction of the journalists, with a maximum prison sentence of 10 years. The families of the journalists filed a lawsuit against Yahoo, charging the company with violating U.S. and international law by providing the Chinese government with personal information leading to the journalists’ arrests.
Congressional representatives were quick to critique Yahoo during hearings last week. Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Burlingame) said:
It took a tongue-lashing from Congress before these high-tech titans did the right thing and coughed up some concrete assistance for the family of a journalist who Yahoo had helped send to jail. What a disgrace.
Judging by Yahoo’s actions, it seems the Internet company is trying to make amends for what it knows is wrong. Then again, by keeping the settlement details secret, they’re sending another message to the public: We don’t want you to know how sorry we are, and tough luck if you want to find out. Yahoo is trying to spin this controversy in a way that makes them seem remorseful, especially by setting up a fund to assist (of all people) those who are jailed for expressing their opinion. Perhaps Yahoo should have been a better sympathizer to free expression in 2004, when it basically caused the arrest of free-thinking journalists.
Rep. Lantos called this situation a disgrace. It’s also a black mark on Yahoo’s brand that will be tough to wash off.
