Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang defended the Internet search engine’s cooperation with Chinese censorship of the Web, saying it was necessary to reach out to new users.
US lawmakers have accused tech giants Yahoo, Google and Microsoft of helping sustain the so-called Great Firewall of China, which blocks searches of terms considered to be sensitive, such as “free speech” and “human rights.”
But Yang said it was better to be in China than out.
“We have to think of a way in which the Internet phenomenon can continue to grow and reach more users and at the same time comply with local laws.
“In places like China and other places that have different political regimes I think you’ll see them trying to react and potentially regulate these kinds of activities.
“But our observation is that it is inevitable that things will become more open and free flowing,” Yang told reporters here ahead of the 10th anniversary of the search engine’s Japanese site on April 1.
Yahoo came under fire last year for supplying information to the Chinese government which led to the arrest of Chinese journalist Shi Tao.
Shi was sentenced to 10 years in prison for passing on a government censorship order through his Yahoo e-mail account.