Yahoo Hires Ethics Officer

Yahoo's announcement Thursday that it had created a new position called "Chief Compliance and Ethics Officer" is raising eyebrows, and some are speculating that it may have something to do with the criticism it received at its annual shareholder's meeting about its cooperation with the Chinese government. David Farrell, formerly chief compliance officer at Sun, has been hired for the position.

Among Farrell's responsibilities would be to ensure that the company is complying with the best practices of the industry at large, as well as being socially responsible and protecting the privacy of its users. In the most widely publicized example of Yahoo's cooperation with China, a writer was sentenced to a 10-year prison team after Yahoo provided access to the man's e-mail account to authorities. Yahoo has since been sued over the incident.