Ethics

By hiding behind the curtain of legality and the concept of obeying the laws of the land has essentially enabled Yahoo to successfully deflect all blame regarding this matter. However, the basic fact remains that Mr. Shi, being a customer of Yahoo, should have been protected by the company in the sense that Yahoo, having operated within the Chinese governmental environment, was completely aware of the repercussions that would result if it were to divulge the required information. Therefore, in view of the dictatorship regime dominant within the country, they should have sought legal advice from the American government before taking such an action.
Presently, the fact that China has opened its borders to joint ventures with international enterprises, essentially leads to the fact the Chinese government inherently needs foreign investment specifically from technological companies like Yahoo, Microsoft, and Google etc. Consequently, a concerted effort by these companies can essentially lead towards ascension of demands by the Chinese government, especially in cases where the violation of human rights is concerned. Thus, by participating in such a way, Yahoo has basically involved itself in the violation of human rights which, under American Law, is considered illegal and is subject to litigation.
Yahoo has also betrayed all of its customers in the sense that, in the future, there is a high possibility that if another situation like this were to occur, Yahoo would just go and divulge confidential information which is in fact, a violation of the code of ethics pertaining to client-company relationship. It must be noted that international companies, by working alongside the Chinese government, are essentially working towards providing the ordinary Chinese consumer with services that are moving towards a certain degree of openness. However, in the same context, companies must also stand firm when faced with situations in which they have to break the laws of one country, specifically the country of their origin, in order to obey the laws of another country, especially when the former is a proponent of human rights violations.