14 DAY TRIAL // The World Organization for Human Rights and Yahoo are now involved into a very interesting dispute because the Sunnyvale company is accused of infringing the human rights in China. According to the complaints, Yahoo is accused by two Chinese journalists of disclosing private information about the users, information that led to the arrest and the prosecution of the consumers. Yahoo defended itself saying that it was forced to provide the information since the local laws require it to do so. The company filed a 51-page motion to dismiss the lawsuit, saying that this case shouldn't go to an American court since it concerns the Chinese laws.
"This is a lawsuit by citizens of China imprisoned for using the Internet in China to express political views in violation of China law. It is a political case challenging the laws and actions of the Chinese government. It has no place in the American courts," Yahoo wrote in the statement according to CNET.
"This is a political and diplomatic issue, not a legal one. The real issue here is the plaintiffs' outrage at the behaviour and laws of the Chinese government. The US court system is not the forum for addressing these political concerns," Kelley Benander, Yahoo! spokeswoman, said for the Los Angeles Times as The Guardian reports.
If you didn't know, a Chinese journalist who tried to send valuable information about the local government to some reporters outside the country was caught by the authorities after the Sunnyvale company Yahoo provided private information about him. CNET reports that he was arrested in November 2004 and, even if he pleaded guilty, he is now sentenced for 10 years in prison.
Yahoo will have some tough research to do to defend itself and the company knows it. The Chinese community and the human rights organizations formed an alliance that might cause serious problems to the giant portal. "U.S. corporations doing business in places like China, that have highly repressive practices and commit human rights violations on a systemic basis, need to ask themselves a question: Are the actions I'm taking or the information I'm providing putting people at risk?" said Morton Sklar, executive director of the World Organization for Human Rights USA, according to the LA Times.