Ugly Chapter in Yahoo's History Revisited

[Coventina]

Source: ABC News

An ugly chapter in internet giant Yahoo!'s history was revisited this week with the introduction of new legislation that would prevent a repeat botch-up the company made that landed Chinese journalists in prison.

The bill would prevent companies like Yahoo!, Google, and Microsoft from helping such governments find, convict and torture citizens for engaging in democracy promotion and human rights advocacy on the internet.


"U.S. businesses should have no role in aiding and abetting oppression around the world," said Rep. Christopher Smith, (R-NJ), a long time human rights activist in Congress, who authored the New Global Online Freedom Act (GOFA).

Smith's words are weighted with memories of journalists jailed in China with the aid of Yahoo!. The company settled a lawsuit from two Chinese journalists in 2007 who went to jail after the company turned over details of their online activities to Chinese authorities.



Read more: http://www.abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=7527708&page=1

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I'll never forgive Yahoo! for that.

:mad:

[ixion]

1. "U.S. businesses should have no role in aiding and abetting oppression around the world,"

Nor should they here at home, but they do anyway.

[Downwinder]

2. Define "U.S. businesses."

[ixion]

3. uh, pretty self-explanatory, IMO, but since you insist

Any company doing business in the US, or whose home office is located in the US.

[Downwinder]

5. I am in agreement.

But how do you classify CITI with massive foreign ownership or Smithfield Farms subsidiary operations in Mexico or Nortel?

[FraDon]

4. k&r • this is EXACTLY what all the US phone companies did HERE @ home ('cept Qwest ...

remember Qwest, they used to be a phone company).

NSA solicited illegal Qwest mass wiretaps right after Bush inauguration
http://www.mail-archive.com/[e-mail]/msg08213.html

"U.S. businesses should have no role in aiding and abetting oppression around the world,"

• This will take a paradigm shift on steroids.
.

[truedelphi]

6. Important subject being discussed here.

We have a President who voted the wrong way when the FISA legislation came up. Someone get this to him as well.

[DCKit]

7. So, the companies that obey the law won't be able to compete in those markets...

while those that flaunt the law* - and give large political donations as insurance against investigation - will continue to rake in the profits.

* See: Dole, Chiquita.