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The suit filed by the World Organization for Human Rights claims that by sharing private search information with the Chinese government, specifically copies of email messages, e-mail addresses, user ID numbers and other personal information, Yahoo became complicit in the subsequent arrest, torture and detention of Chinese citizens.

The case has been brought on behalf of two Chinese plaintiffs, Wang Xiaoning and Yu Ling, who claim their arrests were unlawful and only made possible through Yahoo's policy of sharing its search information.

According to the lawsuit Wang Xiaoning is currently serving ten years in a Beijing prison for publishing and circulating articles that supported democratic reform over the internet. Yu Ling is suing on behalf of her husband who she claims was illegally detained by the Chinese government.

Yahoo has responded to the suit by asking the courts to dismiss it.

"Yahoo! believes deeply in human rights. As a company built on openness, we strongly support

"Yahoo! believes there is no legal merit to this case, and we have asked the court today to dismiss it. As we demonstrate in our legal filing, as well as our recent request for views of the U.S. State Department, this is a political and diplomatic issue, not a legal one.

"The real issue here is the plaintiffs' outrage at the behaviour and laws of the Chinese government. The U.S. court system is not the forum for addressing these political concerns.

"Yahoo! has engaged extensively with the U.S. government on the issues in China and we will continue to work with industry partners, as well as human-rights organizations, on a global framework for technology companies operating in countries that restrict free expression and privacy."

The internet is highly regulated in China and
only last year Yahoo was forced to defend its stance in the country. "Beyond commercial considerations, we believe that our services have promoted personal expression and enabled far wider access to independent sources of information for hundreds of millions of individuals in China and elsewhere in the world," the company told the US Congress on Human Rights.

"While we will actively work to encourage governments around the world to embrace policies on internet content that foster the freer exchange of ideas and promote maximum access to information, we also recognise that, acting alone, our leverage and ability to influence government policies in various countries is severely limited."