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Chinese Political Prisoner Sues Yahoo in U.S. Court
On April 18, 2007, Chinese political prisoner Wang Xiaoning, along with his wife Yu Ling, and several other unidentified plaintiffs, filed a lawsuit against Yahoo in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The suit accuses the company of abetting the commission of torture by helping Chinese authorities identify political dissidents who were later beaten and imprisoned. The lawsuit, filed under the Alien Tort Claims Act and the Torture Victims Protection Act, is believed to be the first of its kind against an Internet-based company for its activities in China.
The lawsuit contends that Yahoo HK, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yahoo based in Hong Kong, provided the police with information linking Wang to posts on the Internet which contravene Chinese censorship laws. Yahoo did not comment on the allegations; however, a spokesman, Jim Cullinan, did make a statement: “Yahoo China will not know whether [a] demand for information is for a legitimate criminal investigation or is going to be used to prosecute political dissidents”.
Human rights groups have criticized several Internet-based companies, including Cisco Systems, Microsoft and Google with accusations of aiding the Chinese government in monitoring and censoring the Internet.
For additional information, visit:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/19/news/yahoo.php