Yahoo may face suit over jailed Chinese journalist

The family of a Chinese journalist jailed for 10 years after Yahoo allegedly handed over information about him to authorities there is considering suing the American Internet company, according to a report from Agence France-Presse. Shi Tao was sentenced last April after posting on the Internet a government order barring Chinese media from marking the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro-democracy activists. Yahoo allegedly provided information that proved that Shi had e-mailed the order from his computer, the report said. Pro-democracy Hong Kong legislator Albert Ho says he has filed a formal complaint to Hong Kong's privacy watchdog, the Office of the Privacy Commission for Personal Data.

However, Yahoo said on Friday that Yahoo Hong Kong was not asked by China for any information and did not provide any; Yahoo China did. "Yahoo Hong Kong was not involved in any disclosure of information about Mr. Shi to the Chinese government," said Yahoo spokeswoman Mary Osako. "In this specific case the Chinese government ordered Yahoo China to provide user information and Yahoo China complied with local laws."

Yahoo executives have defended the company's action, saying that by cooperating with Chinese authorities, Yahoo can try to help push the country toward more openness. Yahoo, Google, Microsoft and other U.S. Internet companies have recently come under fire for their policies of cooperating with the Chinese government.