el crispito

Why am I considering giving up my Yahoo! Mail account that I've used for several years and switching to another provider?

Recently, the Yahoo! brand has come under fire for providing information to the Chinese government which has lead to the arrest and conviction of a political dissident. According to a news release from Human Rights in China, Wang Xiaoning was detained in 2002 and convicted in 2003 of "incitement to subvert state power," which brings a 10-year prison sentence and a subsequent two-year period without political rights in China. Specifically, he distributed two journals, Democratic Reform Free Forum and Current Political Commentary through a Yahoo! Group, with articles written by himself and others, advocating democratic reforms and a multi-party system.

The court records fail to indicate whether Yahoo! Holdings Ltd., located in Hong Kong, or Yahoo! China, run by Alibaba.com in mainland China, provided specific information about Wang's identity to the government, but both utilize servers located within China. Chinese officials told Wang that if he pursued his right to appeal, he would be denied any opportunity for parole, reduction of sentence for good behavior or other privileges. He is currently detained in Beijing Municipal No. 2 Prison's second most severe level of solitary confinement.

This is the fourth time in recent years that Yahoo! has been accused of helping Chinese officials detain political dissidents; also in Chinese prisons are reporter Shi Tao and Internet activists Li Zhi and Jiang Lijun.

Yahoo! has stated that they and their subsidiaries must follow all local laws. Yet many had suggested that Yahoo! locate any servers for China outside the physical borders of the country to prevent just such conflicts and the company elected not to do so.

It can also be argued that the Yahoo! service I use is distinct from the Yahoo! China and Yahoo! Holdings Ltd. groups. Still, both derive benefit from use of the Yahoo! name and being a part of the Yahoo! constellation of services.

The bottom line is this: Yahoo! has chosen to make profits by dealing with a totalitarian government that restricts free speech. It is not a recent change in policy to which a company established decades ago is having to adjust. Yahoo! went in to China knowing that they restrict speech and censor Internet content. Chinese citizens should have access to the Internet, but should American companies sell out American ideals to make a buck? Even if you would agree that there is no reason why they shouldn't, should American citizens sell out American ideals by purchasing goods and services from companies that make no demands as part of doing business in foreign countries that such countries improve their human rights positions?

I pay for my Yahoo! Mail account to get services beyond those that are included in the free accounts. I believe that I cannot just spare the decision by dropping the services that cost extra. I need my account to have several filters, lots of storage, etc.

Should I stop paying them and switch to another provider for my email service? Your opinions would be appreciated.