“Our committee has established that Yahoo! provided false information to Congress in early 2006. We want to clarify how that happened, and to hold the company to account for its actions both before and after its testimony proved untrue. And we want to examine what steps the company has taken since then to protect the privacy rights of its users in China.”
“We have now learned there is much more to the story than Yahoo let on, and a Chinese government document that Yahoo had in their possession at the time of the hearing left little doubt of the government’s intentions,” added Congressman Chris Smith. “U.S. companies must hold the line and not work hand in glove with the secret police.”
Up till now, Yohoo! kept claiming that it knew nothing about the nature of the investigation. Furthermore, the Internet giant said that, according to Chinese legislation, the company had to provide the investigators with Shi Tao’s emails and IP addresses.
As a direct result, Shi Tao is now serving a 10 year prison sentence.
Aside from the Committee hearing, Yahoo is also the defendant in a private lawsuit filed by Shi Tao’s mother.