Ms. Francine Prose
President

Mr. Larry Siems
Director, Freedom to Write and International Programs

PEN American Center
558 Broadway, Suite 303
New York, NY 10012

Dear Ms. Prose and Mr. Siems:

I am writing to thank you for your recent letter announcing the launch of the “We Are Ready for Freedom of Expression” campaign. I applaud your decision to embark on this effort, and would like you to know that I – and the company I represent – share your commitment to the cause of free expression around the world. I would like to take this opportunity to inform you of how we are putting our commitment into practice.

Let me begin by saying that we deeply regret the circumstances that have led to the imprisonment of individuals in China simply due to the exercise of their right to free expression. As you might imagine, most troubling for me are the cases that utilized information demanded of Yahoo! by government authorities. As I noted in my testimony before Congress in November, Yahoo! was founded with the purpose of promoting access to information and free expression, and the fact that individuals are in prison because they expressed their ideas online runs counter to Yahoo!’s core values.

It is also something Yahoo! is determined to do something about. That is why we have established the Yahoo! Human Rights Fund to provide humanitarian and legal support to political dissidents who have been imprisoned for expressing their views online, as well as support for their families. It is a fund we established in collaboration with noted dissident and human rights activist Harry Wu. The fund will be administered through Mr. Wu’s Laogai Research Foundation, with the express purpose of pursuing the legal defense and release of these individuals. Some of the resources we have committed to this effort will also support the foundation’s educational work to advance human rights. In addition, we have settled a lawsuit brought by the families of imprisoned dissidents in China, giving them additional resources to fight for their relatives’ release.

We recognize the direct role Yahoo! and other companies must have in this endeavor. To this end, senior executives at our company have been and will continue working to secure the release of political dissidents. In addition to personal meetings I have had on this important matter, a group of policy and legal executives at Yahoo! have engaged with high-ranking Chinese and U.S. officials as well as human rights groups to discuss strategies and advocate for the release of certain political dissidents. I have also sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, urging the Bush Administration to actively pursue the release of Chinese dissidents imprisoned for exercising their right of free expression. This is an effort we will continue to pursue vigorously.

As noted in your letter, industry leaders should also strive to change the way Internet companies operate in countries with repressive regimes. For over a year and a half, Yahoo! has been working closely with industry partners, academics, human rights organizations, socially responsible investors, and others on a global code of conduct to guide technology companies operating in challenging markets. The process is facilitated by Business for Social Responsibility in San Francisco and the Center for Democracy & Technology in Washington, D.C.

The three objectives for the group include: (i) creating principles on free expression and privacy for use by the information, communications, and technology industry globally; (ii) putting in place an implementation, governance, and accountability framework to advance these principles; and (iii) creating forums for the exchange of critical information. Having dedicated considerable collective resources to this effort, we are hopeful the group will announce new industry standards and commitments in the near future.

Beyond our direct engagement in the measures noted above, Yahoo! is seeking to stimulate new ideas and initiatives that will advance the cause of free expression in the years to come. Specifically, Yahoo! has established international fellowships at Stanford and Georgetown universities to promote the pursuits of journalists from press-restrictive countries and scholars exploring the link between global values, the Internet, and communication technologies. We intend to remain actively involved in the work of the Yahoo! Fellows, partnering as appropriate in seminars, research, publications, conferences, and other engagements with students, faculty, policy-makers, and the public. Given the PEN American Center’s similar pursuits, I welcome any interest you have in exploring ways we can work together on such endeavors.

As you have aptly noted, the coming year provides unique opportunities to seek not only the release of those imprisoned in China for expressing their views, but also measures to advance the Internet’s promise as an instrument for the free exchange of ideas globally. I look forward to pressing ahead with the initiatives that Yahoo! is undertaking to achieve these objectives, and to working with you and others who share these aspirations.
 
Sincerely,
Jerry Yang
Chief Executive Officer and Chief Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc.

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