Yahoo! lawsuit (re: China)

 

In April 2005, Chinese journalist Shi Tao was sentence to a 10-year prison term in China for “illegally providing state secrets to foreign entities.” Tao had engaged in an online correspondence with an American pro-democracy website about the Chinese government’s media orders to omit reference to the upcoming anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Uprising.

Evidence used against Tao included account information provided by Tao’s email provider, Yahoo! Yahoo! claimed it to have merely been complying with local Chinese ordinances.

Tao’s family members were also subject to harassment by the government, including interrogation, surveillance, and other intimidation tactics. Tao was transferred to another prison after being held in grueling conditions and harsh labor while in prison in Hunan, having suffered severe skin and respiratory complications as a result of the detention. He was released in August 2013 after having served in prison for over eight years.

The Chinese government’s widespread internet censorship policy is still in effect, including blocking search engine results deemed sensitive, filtering political key words, and monitoring private online communications. Yahoo! refused to take bold moves following Tao’s high-profile case. Yahoo! China was shut down in 2013.

 

Source: "Imprisoned for Peaceful Expression." Amnesty International. Amnesty International. Web. 3 Feb 2014. <http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/cases/china-shi-tao>.