For today's edition of the NPR News program "Day to Day," I filed a report on news that Yahoo! allegedly gave information to the Chinese government which led to the imprisonment of a second Internet writer.
US-based China news website boxun.com (which means "abundant knowlege") last week reported that the personal data Yahoo supplied to Chinese authorities led to an 8-year prison sentence for 'net dissident Li Zhi. Reporters Without Borders says they've confirmed the claim. Yahoo says they are looking in to the matter.
These allegations carry more weight because last year, journalist Shi Tao was imprisoned for ten years for "divulging state secrets abroad" after Yahoo released info about his anonymous account to Chinese government investigators.
The ethical responsibilities of US internet firms doing business in China will be the subject of a house committee hearing this Wednesday, February 15, titled "The Internet in China: A Tool for Freedom or Suppression?"
For today's NPR News report, I spoke to Yahoo representative Mary Osako; to Lucie Morillon of Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, to UC Berkeley Journalism school dean Orville Schell, and human rights activist Qiang Xiao, who is also head of UCB's China Internet Project. All four organizations will be represented at Wednesday's hearings in Washington. Also invited to attend, other tech firms including Google and Microsoft — both of which have also received recent criticism for complying with repressive policies of China's communist government.
Link to archived audio for "Yahoo! May Have Aided Arrest of Chinese Journalists." (Special thanks to Tian for pronunciation-checking!)
Previously on Boing Boing:
Report: Yahoo helped jail another Chinese 'net dissident, Li Zhi
