Effective Immediately, I do NOT Yahoo! (I Encourage FR to Leave Yahoo!)

BizzyBlog ^ | September 8, 2005 | Tom Blumer

[bizzyblog]

.... and I encourage others to stop using Yahoo! and Yahoo!-related resources.

(Hat tips for original news: Global Voices Online, through Instapundit, Roger Simon, and RConversation)

Yes, there are plenty of bad actors in the American high-tech sellout of the Chinese people and their aspirations for freedom (commented on previously here [1st item], here [1st item], and in the body of several other China-related posts).

But Yahoo! is the first company I know of that has actively aided and abetted the Chinese police state in an actual prosecution and jailing of a reporter (bolds are mine):

Information supplied by Yahoo! helped journalist Shi Tao get 10 years in prison

The text of the verdict in the case of journalist Shi Tao - sentenced in April to 10 years in prison for “divulging state secrets abroad” - shows that Yahoo! Holdings (Hong Kong) Ltd. provided China’s state security authorities with details that helped to identify and convict him, Reporters Without Borders said today.

“We already knew that Yahoo! collaborates enthusiastically with the Chinese regime in questions of censorship, and now we know it is a Chinese police informant as well,” the press freedom organisation said.

“Yahoo! obviously complied with requests from the Chinese authorities to furnish information regarding an IP address that linked Shi Tao to materials posted online, and the company will yet again simply state that they just conform to the laws of the countries in which they operate,” the organisation said. “But does the fact that this corporation operates under Chinese law free it from all ethical considerations ? How far will it go to please Beijing?”

Reporters Without Borders added: “Information supplied by Yahoo! led to the conviction of a good journalist who has paid dearly for trying to get the news out. It is one thing to turn a blind eye to the Chinese government’s abuses and it is quite another thing to collaborate.”

Because of the above, I have removed this site's Yahoo! Finance link, and will studiously try to avoid all future visits to Yahoo! and Yahoo!-affiliated sites. I encourage other blogs and readers to take similar appropriate actions. So that I and other sympathetic readers can avoid actions that directly or indirectly support Yahoo!, any information about Yahoo!-owned entities that do not use the Yahoo! name would also be welcome.

I have also used my minimal drawing "skills" to create the graphic at the top of this post, which I plan to place prominently and permanently (as long as Yahoo! remains a Chinese police state collaborator) somewhere in the opening screen.

Any reader who wishes can copy the graphic to his/her blog site, forum post, or anywhere else you might find posting it useful. Please--Copy the graphic over to your web host and DON'T hotlink to me.

Avoiding the use of Yahoo! and telling readers why would seem to be something bloggers (and users) of all political persuasions can agree on. If not, I'd sure like to hear someone tell me why.

[bizzyblog]

I would hope that Jim and others in FR management might reconsider their relationship with Yahoo! There are many unclean high-tech companies, but Yahoo! appears to be incurably dirty without significant persuasion, like lost business and hits.

[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

Well, you make a good case, but I'm obligated for a year or two. I will remember this, though.

[bizzyblog]

I take it you can't just cancel and get a prorated refund?

Don't forget to see where they are with this issue when renewal time comes.

Thanks for reading.

[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

No I can't just cancel without paying a penalty. But thanks for the information. I try to keep track of these sorts of things.