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| Yahoo settles its China lawsuit | Yahoo settles its China lawsuit |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Yahoo has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought against it on behalf of several Chinese dissidents, according to papers filed in a California court. | Yahoo has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought against it on behalf of several Chinese dissidents, according to papers filed in a California court. |
| No details have been given of the settlement but Yahoo will be covering legal costs. | No details have been given of the settlement but Yahoo will be covering legal costs. |
| The case alleged that Yahoo had provided information to the Chinese government that had then been used to prosecute the dissidents. | The case alleged that Yahoo had provided information to the Chinese government that had then been used to prosecute the dissidents. |
| Yahoo said it had to comply with Chinese laws to operate in the country. | Yahoo said it had to comply with Chinese laws to operate in the country. |
| A statement released by the World Organization for Human Rights USA, which brought the case, said Yahoo had decided to settle the case following criticism at a US Congressional hearing on 6 November. | |
| 'Inexcusably negligent' | |
| A Congressional panel criticised Yahoo for not giving full details to its probe into the jailing of a reporter by Chinese authorities. | |
| Yahoo had been "at best inexcusably negligent" and at worst "deceptive" in evidence given to the House Foreign Affairs Committee last year, the panel said. | Yahoo had been "at best inexcusably negligent" and at worst "deceptive" in evidence given to the House Foreign Affairs Committee last year, the panel said. |
| One journalist cited in the case, Shi Tao, was tracked down and jailed for 10 years for subversion after Yahoo passed on his e-mail and IP address to officials. | |
| He was convicted in 2004 of divulging state secrets after posting online a Chinese government order forbidding media organisations from marking the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. | |
| Yahoo's original response to the lawsuit acknowledged releasing information to the Chinese government. | |
| But it argued that there was little connection between the information the firm gave and the ensuing arrests and imprisonment of its users. | |
| Michael Callahan, Yahoo's executive vice-president and general counsel, then told a congressional panel in February 2006 that he did not know why the Chinese authorities wanted to trace Shi Tao. | |
| Last week, Mr Callahan wrote to the committee admitting that other Yahoo employees had a document saying it was to do with the "suspected illegal provision of state secrets". | |
| Mr Callahan said the information only came to his attention months after he testified. |