Editing Jerry Yang (section)

==== Chinese government controversies ====

In the fall 2005, a month after the Alibaba investment, news broke that Yahoo! had cooperated with Chinese authorities in the arrest of Chinese journalist [[Shi Tao (journalist)|Shi Tao]] in November 2004.<ref name=NYT2005>Joseph Kahn for ''The New York Times.'' September 8, 2005 [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/08/technology/08yahoo.html?_r=0 Yahoo Role Documented in Chinese Trial]</ref> Shi had used a Yahoo email address to anonymously notify a pro-democracy website in the US that the Chinese government had ordered the Chinese media not to cover the fifteenth anniversary of the [[Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989]] on June 4. Yahoo! provided the Chinese security agencies with the [[IP address]]es of the senders, the recipients and the time of the message. Shi was subsequently convicted for "divulging state secrets abroad."<ref name=NYT2005/>

Yang justified the action, stating: "To be doing business in China or anywhere else in the world, we have to comply with local law[s]."  Yang and Yahoo! were heavily criticized, and [[Reporters Without Borders]] called Yahoo! "a Chinese police informant."<ref name=RSF>Reporters Without Borders.  September 6, 2005 [https://web.archive.org/web/20051003233736/http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=14884 Information supplied by Yahoo ! helped journalist Shi Tao get 10 years in prison].</ref><ref>Editors of ''The Washington Post''. September 18, 2005 [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/17/AR2005091701135.html Editorial: Obeying Orders]</ref>

In April 2007, [[Wang Xiaoning]] and other journalists brought a civil suit against Yahoo! for allegedly aiding and abetting the Chinese government which, it was claimed, resulted in torture that included beatings and imprisonment.<ref>Miguel Helft for ''The New York Times'' April 19, 2007 [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/technology/19yahoo.html?_r=1&oref=slogin Chinese Political Prisoner Sues in U.S. Court, Saying Yahoo Helped Identify Dissidents]</ref>

In early November 2007, Yang faced questions from a Congressional committee with respect to Yahoo!'s role in the arrests of Tao and other journalists in China. During the hearings he apologized to Tao's mother, who was also at the hearing.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120904230143/http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9798390-7.html Yahoo summoned to Washington over Chinese arrests], c/net news blog, October 16, 2007</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_7392987?nclick_check=1|title=Lawmaker scolds Yahoo: 'Morally you are pygmies'|newspaper=The Mercury News|date=November 7, 2007|access-date=November 14, 2007|first=John|last=Boudreau}}</ref><ref>Associated Press in ''The New York Times''.  November 7, 2007 [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/07/technology/07yahoo.html?_r=0 Yahoo Criticized in Case of Jailed Dissident]</ref>

A week later, Yahoo! agreed to settle with the affected Chinese dissidents, paying them undisclosed compensation. Yang stated, "After meeting with the families, it was clear to me what we had to do to make this right for them, for Yahoo, and for the future."<ref>Corey Boles and Scott Morrison for ''The Wall Street Journal''. November 14, 2007 [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB119497419315091540 Yahoo Settles Suit Over Jailed Chinese Dissidents]</ref>  That week, Yang established the Yahoo! Human Rights Fund, a fund to provide "humanitarian and legal support" to online dissidents.<ref name="press release">{{cite web | url=http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/YHOO/0x0x185268/e4ed71a5-8c6a-41eb-b12a-53be1afb9e17/YHOO_News_2007_11_13_General.pdf | title=Press Release: Yahoo! Inc Reaches Settlement On Lawsuit Works To Establish Human Rights Fund | date=November 13, 2007 | publisher=Yahoo! | access-date=January 11, 2015 | archive-date=January 11, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150111070715/http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/YHOO/0x0x185268/e4ed71a5-8c6a-41eb-b12a-53be1afb9e17/YHOO_News_2007_11_13_General.pdf | url-status=dead }}</ref>

In February 2008, Secretary of State [[Condoleezza Rice]] said that she raised issues about jailed Chinese journalists with her Chinese counterpart [[Yang Jiechi]]; she cited a letter from Jerry Yang requesting her assistance in freeing the jailed dissidents.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/27/technology/27iht-yahoo.4.10491518.html| title=Rice presses China on jailed dissidents | newspaper=The New York Times|date=February 27, 2007}}</ref> Late in 2008, the [[Laogai Museum]] opened; the museum was run by noted Chinese dissident [[Harry Wu]] and showcased China's ''[[laogai]]'' penal system. It was funded by the Yahoo! Human Rights Fund.<ref name="wsj">{{cite news | url=https://blogs.wsj.com/chinajournal/2008/11/12/yahoo-sponsored-chinese-human-rights-museum-opens-in-washington/ | newspaper=The Wall Street Journal | access-date=December 12, 2008 | last=Fowler | first=Geoffrey A | date=November 12, 2008 | title=Yahoo-Sponsored Chinese Human Rights Museum Opens in Washington}}</ref>

On September 2, 2020, a lawsuit was filed on behalf of Chinese activist Ning Xianhua against past Yahoo! executives, including Yang and Semel. The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court in San Jose, California. It alleges that Yahoo! provided Xianhua's private emails to the Chinese government in exchange for commercial access to more Chinese internet users.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ranjha |first1=Ikrama Majeed |title=Lawsuit alleges Yahoo let Chinese authorities access private emails |url=https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/lawsuit-alleges-yahoo-let-chinese-authorities-access-private-emails-60192101 |access-date=March 7, 2021 |work=S&P Global |date=September 2, 2020 |language=en-us}}</ref>