On Technology and Journalism Security

The World Politics Review (WPR) blog features an interesting post on the future of journalistic liberty and safety across the world in the face of technological privacy incursions. In November 2004, the Chinese government sentenced journalist Shi Tao to a ten-year jail term for “disclosure of state secrets.” Shi had sent a government memo aimed to stifle reporting on the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre to various foreign websites. Yahoo, the e-mail service that he used to send out his information, revealed his identity to Chinese law enforcement authorities upon request.
Yesterday, Yahoo’s chief executive and executive vice president faced a chastising House Committee on Foreign Affairs to discuss their role in revealing Shi’s identity. They had already appeared before the Committee at a hearing last year, during which they testified that Yahoo had known nothing about the nature of the investigation that had led to Shi’s arrest. The company leaders were called back after evidence emerged that Yahoo did know more about the Chinese authorities’ request than it had previously admitted to.

Although Yahoo claims a misunderstanding, this case raises a number of problematic issues regarding disclosure of information and freedom of speech, in particular due to its trans-national nature. WPR rightly questions:

What about the issue of sovereignty and business rules? If a Chinese company defied demands by Congress or the president to comply with U.S. laws, there would be a firestorm in congress, and pundits would go berserk. Can American companies defy Chinese law?

Transnational firms are often faced with the dilemma of which rules to respect. Reporters without Borders ranked China 163rd out of 169 countries in its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index. The authorities are known for their common accusations of journalists “disclosing state secrets." Where does corporate responsibility lie?