Yahoo Settles With Chinese Journalists

After turning over data, it will pay 2 men jailed by Beijing
By Jonas Oransky,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 13, 2007 5:25 PM CST
Yahoo Settles With Chinese Journalists
In this Nov. 6, 2007 file photo, Yahoo Chief Executive Jerry Yang, right, accompanied by General Counsel Michael Callahan, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Yahoo Inc. on Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2007 settled a lawsuit with two Chinese journalists who were...   (Associated Press)

One week after being labeled moral “pygmies” in a House hearing, Yahoo settled a lawsuit  brought by two Chinese journalists jailed when the Internet giant turned over their personal data to Beijing. The two men, now serving 10-year sentences on charges of leaking state secrets, sued Yahoo for providing the Chinese government with their emails and addresses. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

As part of the deal, Yahoo—which initially said it was merely complying with Chinese law—pledged to create a humanitarian relief fund for other political dissidents. The House hearing tipped the scales, “causing too much embarrassment” for Yahoo, said a spokesman for the human rights group that filed the suit. China has jailed more than 200 Internet users under similar circumstances, he said. (More Yahoo stories.)

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