Yahoo
censors more sites than other search engines operating in China, according to
press freedom organisation
Reporters
Without Borders.
The group alleged that
Yahoo
China censored more results than
Google
China,
MSN
China and local search engine
Baidu.
Using a list of 'subversive' keywords including 'democracy', 'human rights'
and '6-4' (the date of the
Tiananmen
Square massacre), Reporters Without Borders measured whether the results
returned linked to sites authorised or not authorised by the Chinese
authorities.
A massive 97 per cent of the results returned by Yahoo China were to
authorised sites, making it more restrictive than Chinese competitor Baidu.
Google China returned 83 per cent authorised sites, compared with 78 per cent
for MSN China.
The same search on
Google.com
showed only 28 per cent of authorised sites in the results.
The study also found that if users entered certain search terms into Yahoo,
such as '6-4' or 'Tibet independence', they would be temporarily blocked from
using the search engine for an hour. Only Baidu used the same technique.
Reporters Without Borders urged companies operating in repressive countries
not to censor search results.
"We are convinced that these companies can still access the Chinese market
without betraying their ethical principles. They must, however, adopt a firm and
clear position in relation to the Chinese authorities," the organisation said in
a statement.
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