Yahoo relents, allows 'Allah' in user IDs after Valley protest

Daily Hampshire Gazette
Feb 23, 2006

By SEAN REAGAN Staff Writer

But when Internet giant Yahoo told her she couldn't use her last name in an email address because it contained "Allah," instead of standing down she called attention to the issue.

Allah is the Islamic name for God.

"I wouldn't want to support a company that has rules like that," Callahan told the Gazette last week. "It doesn't help anybody in our world right now."

On Wednesday, Yahoo decided it agreed with her. The Internet company broke its silence with a statement saying that its original reasons for banning "Allah" were no longer an issue. It said the name could now be employed by Yahoo users, even embedded in a longer name like Callahan's.

In the statement, the company said its policy had been an attempt to contain hateful messages.

"A small number of people registered for IDs using specific terms with the sole purpose of promoting hate, and then used those IDs to post content that was harmful or threatening to others," the statement said.

According to the statement, "Allah' was one word being used for defamatory purposes. "We took steps to help protect our users by prohibiting use of the term in Yahoo user names. We recently re-evaluated the term 'Allah,' and users can now register for IDs with this word because it is no longer a significant target for abuse."

No one from Yahoo, which is based in California, could be reached for comment this morning.

"I'm very glad that I stood up and called attention to it," Callahan said today. "But I'm sorry that it took Yahoo so long to do the right thing."

The issue arose when Callahan tried to sign up for a Verizon email account using her surname. After running into a slew of technical difficulties, she learned that because "Callahan" contained "Allah," it could not be used as part of her email address.

Verizon officials quickly pointed the finger at Yahoo. Callahan, they said, was using a Yahoo portal that subjected her to Yahoo's name filters. Bobbi Henson, a spokeswoman for Verizon, said the company had never banned "Allah" and would discuss the issue of the ban with Yahoo.

Sean Reagan can be reached at sreagan@gazettenet.com.