Yahoo Urges Nations to Fight Web Censorship

Yahoo Inc. called on the U.S. and other nations Monday to oppose Web censorship in the wake of the Chinese government’s efforts to restrict online activities.

Yahoo will work with other companies, governments, academia and nongovernmental organizations to develop policies for working in countries where content is more restricted than in the U.S., according to a company statement.

Web censorship and human rights concerns in countries such as China have dogged Internet companies including Yahoo and Google Inc. this year, as the companies expand in new markets. Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo gave information to the Chinese government last year that led to the imprisonment of a journalist for distributing a memo about the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

“Private industry alone cannot effectively influence foreign government policies on issues like the free exchange of ideas, maximum access to information and human rights reform,” Yahoo said.

Yahoo shares fell 47 cents to $32.04.

China’s 111 million Web users make it the second largest Internet market. Yahoo in August agreed to pay $1 billion for a 40% stake in Alibaba.com, which took over Yahoo’s operations in China.

“We intend to be a leader in this dialogue,” Yahoo spokeswoman Mary Osako said. “These issues are larger than one company or even one industry.”