PressEthic

Yahoo donated $1 million to John S. Knight Fellowships at Stanford University for journalists (outside of the U.S.) working in countries where the press is under attack, but the donation has not been welcomed by all.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the company’s critics see ethical problems in accepting the funds.

the news immediately sparked protest among some program alumni who criticize Yahoo for yielding to government pressures in China to censor its search function, and providing information to Chinese authorities that led to journalists' arrests.

The article explains that:

A key element of the debate is a controversial 2004 incident in China when Yahoo supplied information to Chinese authorities that led to the arrest of Shi Tao, a 38-year-old journalist suspected of illegally providing state secrets to foreign entities.

Shi was sent to prison with a 10-year sentence.

Yahoo defends itself saying that it is beholden to Chinese law:

Michael Callahan, senior vice president of Yahoo, said that when authorities demanded the information, Yahoo had no choice but to comply. He added that the company did not know Shi's actual identity or the nature of the government's investigation at the time.

In addition to Shi, Chinese law enforcement used Yahoo user information to arrest three others on subversion charges, according to an August 2006 Human Rights Watch report. Like Shi, Li Zhi, Jiang Lijun, and journalist Wang Xiaoning had used the Internet to post or send messages and articles about democracy.

The irony of the case, or some say opportunism on Yahoo’s part in an attempt to recover its image, is that the fellowship is specifically directed at foreign journalists working in environments which are hostile to press freedom.

The International Herald Tribune reported :

Srinija Srinivasan, Yahoo's editor in chief, said that sponsoring the fellowship was "one way to promote one of our core values - the open exchange of information." She said that Yahoo was "profoundly distressed by the arrest" of Shi, but said that the gift was "not about regret."

So does the open exchange of information include providing information to government officials who use it to suppress the journalistic pursuit of information for the public good?

Srinivasan says:

”There is an inherent dilemma, choices are in conflict, we have to make really hard choices, where we do business, why," she said. Over all, she said, Yahoo's presence was better for China and "presence requires complying with local law enforcement, which sometimes can lead to conflicts.”

In other words, Yahoo must continue to comply with laws that may endanger other journalists in China and elsewhere, while at the same time, its 10-year grant may enable journalists to do the hard reporting that sometimes runs up against government censors.