The Long Tail: Yahoo's pygmy problem

In two past incidents, Yahoo allegedly cooperated with the Chinese government to provide information which led to the arrest of two Chinese dissidents. The two individuals were subsequently sentenced to ten years in prison. The blogs ran red-hot just days after Yahoo was labelled "moral pygmies" at a congressional hearing where the company agreed to settle the lawsuit filed by the victims' families. Here's a balanced taste of opinion on the web.

TitusOneNine

URL

http://www.kendallharmon.net

Blogger

Peter Navarro

The post: Peter Navarro: Yahoo isn't the only villain

What it says: This blog offers commentary on culture, politics, economics, and religion, and reckons that although Yahoo is a villain, other companies like Cisco, Skype, Google and Microsoft have been just as naughty but without the bad press.

"Cisco is hardly alone in helping China keep the jackboot to the neck of its people. Skype helps the Chinese government monitor and censor text messaging. Microsoft Corp. likewise is a willing conscript in China's Internet policing army, as Bill Gates' minions regularly cleanse the Chinese blogosphere. Google Inc.'s brainiacs, meanwhile, have built a special Chinese version of their powerful search engine to filter out things as diverse as the BBC, freeing Tibet and that four-letter word in China - democracy".

23 Musings

http://23musings.blogspot.com/

Blogger

Steve E

The post: Has Yahoo as good as admitted breaching human rights?

What it says: Steve E questions whether Yahoo has really breached the human rights of the two dissidents, factoring in that the individuals in question live under a "restrictive regime" and so its actions have put them in danger. The blog also reckons Yahoo's decision was morally wrong but from a business sense, how could it risk being switched off in the largest populated country in the world?

"The liberal in me thinks that they should never hand over any identifiable information to anyone else, I would be outraged if my details were misused in this way. But then, wouldn't the same happen in the UK? If I broke a law then Yahoo would happily hand over my email if the government requested it".

PandaPassport.com China blog

http://www.pandapassport.com/

Blogger

Admin

The post: Yahoo Settles over Chinese Journalist, gets on with business as usual

What it says: This blog details a timeline of events leading up to the court settlement and apologies made by Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang. The blogger summarises it in a sarcastic tone, poking fun at Yang's statements on free exchange of information with screen shots search results for Tiananmen 1989 on Yahoo China.

"Yahoo: Geez Mrs Shi, sorry we passed on that Tian'anmen email. That's a real bummer, that your son got sent to jail deal, eh? Now if you'll excuse us, we have to get back to facilitating the free exchange of information that we tell people our company was founded upon. And a quick Yahoo search shows that the search giant has indeed settled back into that lucrative gray area of compromised morals. Back to business as usual in behind the Great Wall".

Vindu's view from the valley

http://www.mercextra.com/blogs

Blogger

Vindu Goel

The post: Yahoo may be a moral pygmy, but Congress is hardly better

What it says: Goel turns the table on the US Congress, slamming them for ripping into Yahoo with the "morally, you are pygmies" statement it made and for acting all holier-than-thou on US companies trying to figure out how to do business in China. He also says that unlike competitors Google and Microsoft, Yahoo put key servers for its web-based email system within China's borders, opening the door to the Chinese government demands.

"And now, Congress is seriously considering legislation to give AT&T, Verizon and other phone companies immunity from individuals' privacy lawsuits for turning over their personal records under orders from government investigators. Wait, isn't that basically what Yahoo did in China?

Yahoo was wrong. It is a moral pygmy. But Congress isn't standing any taller".