The issue raised by Yahoo!?s complicity in the jailing of Chinese journalist of Shi Tao is the balance between capitalism and human rights. However, beneath the surface lurks a far more ominous and long-term threat. Quite simply, the jailing of Shi Tao reveals that the conventional wisdom that the Internet guarantees anonymity is rapidly becoming an antiquated notion.

Many Internet users believe they can protect their on-line identities through careful web browsing habits and the use of anonymous email accounts. However, this notion is flawed. From a technology standpoint, any users connecting through an ISP has their IP address assigned to them by their ISP. Therefore, their ISP is able to associate the online activity of a particular IP address to an individual user account. For example, an AOL user should be cognizant that AOL servers can log their every move on the Internet, including Web sites visited, files downloaded, emails sent and received, as well as instant messages sent and received. Therefore, it is entirely possible that the Chinese government could have utilized sources other then Yahoo! to identify Shi Tao?s web surfing activities.