Congressional Commitee Rips Yahoo Execs

A number of readers sent word of the hearing by the US House Foreign Affairs Committee in which committee members raked two Yahoo execs over the coals. "While technologically and financially you are giants, morally you are pygmies," the committee chairman Tom Lantos, D-Calif., said angrily after hearing from Jerry Yang and Michael Callahan about Yahoo's actions that resulted in the arrest and imprisonment of a Chinese dissident. In 2004 Yahoo turned over information about journalist Shi Tao's online activities requested by Chinese authorities. In Feb. 2006, Yahoo's General Counsel Callahan testified that he had not known the nature of the investigation the authorities were conducting. He later learned that several employees of Yahoo China were aware at the time that the investigation involved "state secrets," but Callahan did not go back to Congress to amend his testimony. Committee members were withering in their disdain for Yahoo's refusal to help Shi Tao's family after his arrest.

Comments

I don't understand what Yahoo is supposed to do

[gorbachev]

What's Yahoo supposed to do when faced with a subpoena from the Chinese Government?

Tell the Chinese the US Government thinks you're douchebags and so we're not really gonna give you what you want?

Sure, that'll work real well.

Re:Do ad-hominem attacks on Lantos

[timmarhy]

SO me a post where anyone has said anything GOOD about the chinese government?

yahoo might be dicks for handing over that information, but it's not like they had a lot of options. I'm not familar with yahoo's operations but i'm guessing the data was housed in chinese territory, so the government would have just taken it by force if they refused.

and it sounds like this lantos guy needed calling out to begin with.

Re:Hmm

[jaxtherat]

Bring on the blood diamonds! Who the fuck cares who gets abused! Money is the only thing worth consideration.

Welcome to modern capitalism: people = shit