Yahoo Settles a Lawsuit by Two Chinese Journalists

Under fire for its human rights record, Yahoo Inc. settled a lawsuit by two Chinese journalists who were jailed after the Internet giant provided Beijing authorities with information about their online activities.

The agreement, disclosed in U.S. federal court Tuesday, comes a week after the Sunnyvale Internet portal's chief executive, Jerry Yang, faced sharp criticism from a House of Representatives panel, whose members accused him and another top executive of, among other things, being moral pygmies for their business practices in China.

As part of the settlement, Yahoo said it will provide unspecified financial assistance to the plaintiffs and their families. The company will also create a fund to support other political dissidents, regardless of whether they were ever Yahoo users.