Yahoo in China

1323 Words6 Pages
Yahoo! In China Case Study The Yahoo in China case provides a prime example of some of the many difficulties associated doing with international business. Doing business in China tends to be even more difficult than that of other countries, due to their rigid rules and regulations. While I agree with Yahoo releasing the name of Shi Tao to the Chinese government, I do feel that they could have done a better job of going about the situation. However, I understand that privacy concerns and the right to free expression are central to not only this particular case with Yahoo, but with other companies doing business in China. In addition, censorship concerns are at the heart of this case and pose extreme ethical dilemmas for Yahoo. The United States and China have vast differences in terms of their political systems, as well as their individual cultures. These differences create for a tricky situation if not handled correctly, as is evident with the Yahoo in China case. The main issue brought up in this case, is the release of Shi Tao’s personal email information to the Chinese government. By releasing this information, the Chinese government was able to prosecute and jail Shi Tao for disseminating state secrets. This posed an ethical dilemma for Yahoo, as they had to make a decision as to whether or not they would release this information to China. It poses the question of how much social responsibility Yahoo had to protect the identity and privacy of Shi Tao, in addition to his right of free expression. Yahoo explicitly states in their company beliefs that, “We are committed to maintaining our customers’ trust” and “We take our users privacy very seriously”. Paradoxically, however, Yahoo made the decision to lose their customers trust by releasing Shi Tao’s private information. As stated previously, I don’t disagree with the choice they made, I simply disagree
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