Marketing Pilgrim

Yahoo is asking for the dismissal of a court case brought against them for handing over information to the Chinese authorities, which lead to the conviction and alleged torture of Wang Xiaoning.

“Free speech rights as we understand them in the United States are not the law in China,” Yahoo said in a statement Monday. “Every sovereign nation has a right to regulate speech within its borders.”

Yahoo filed a motion to dismiss the case, saying it was compelled by Chinese law to hand over information to authorities including user registration information and email content.

“This is a political and diplomatic issue, not a legal one,” Yahoo spokeswoman Kelley Benander said, according to the Los Angeles Times. “The real issue here is the plaintiffs’ outrage at the behavior and laws of the Chinese government. The US court system is not the forum for addressing these political concerns.”

Anyone want to try and figure out if Yahoo should be held accountable or not? I’m still somewhat concerned that Yahoo and others aren’t putting up a fight with Chinese officials, but maybe their hands really are tied.

Thoughts?