"Charles Cooper is an executive editor with CNET News.com. He also writes a weekly Friday column." Well, Chales Cooper is a real genius (and since the internet does not convey sarcasm that well: I am being sarcastic when I call the guy a genius). Why? Check out his blog entry (titled: Yahoo's tin ear) about the whole Yahoo! HK deal with the report. Here's the lowdown from Chuck:
Shi was jailed because he forwarded a message that was sent to his newspaper warning journalists of the dangers associated with dissidents returning to mark the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.Ok, he got that part right. Then, he rants on...
Reporters Without Borders is also making an explosive charge about Yahoo's involvement in the affair. It claims that Yahoo! Holdings (Hong Kong) Ltd. provided e-mail account information that assisted in Shi's conviction...[Reports Without Borders] pointed a finger of blame directly at Yahoo.Yahoo! has come out with their statement about this news, "Just like any other global company, Yahoo! must ensure that its local country sites must operate within the laws, regulations and customs of the country in which they are based." And then he hits his not-so-well-thoughtout conclusion:
Pardon my sarong but they've got to be kidding. The folks at Yahoo are a lot smarter than this. Or so I had always assumed. Unlike some other Internet mega-stars in the constellation, Yahoo's put grown ups at the helm. So why pretend this is going to go away. If the charges are true, then Yahoo's got a lot of explaining to do. If they're not, then management's making a mistake cowering behind a wall of silence. If anyone should understand what's at stake it's CEO Terry Semel.Huh? Silence? Yahoo! has come out and told you exactly what they did and why they did it: It's the law and Yahoo! was following the local laws. What part don't you understand Chuck? What does Yahoo! have to explain? If the FBI were to pull the Patriot Act in the US and ask Yahoo! to provide information about a terrorist, Yahoo! would do the same -- why? Because it is the law. There's no silence and there's nothing to explain, if the law requires that Yahoo! turn over records, then they will What? You think a large corporation is going to try to start a rebellion over it? No. Yahoo! did exactly as it should have done. I don't understand where your going with this Chuck and what your confusion is. I think the only person that has a tin ear is you Charles.