Baidu dismisses claims of leaked user information
The controversy comes amid China’s tightened data privacy laws, which aim to prevent the unauthorised sharing and sale of personal information online.
Chinese tech giant Baidu has denied claims of an internal data breach after the teenage daughter of a senior executive was accused of sharing users’ personal information online.
The controversy erupted when internet users alleged that the daughter of Baidu vice president Xie Guangjun had posted private details, including phone numbers, following an online dispute.
Baidu insisted that neither employees nor executives have access to user data and claimed the information came from illegally obtained ‘doxing databases’ on foreign platforms.
The company has filed a police report regarding false claims, including allegations that Xie had given his daughter access to Baidu’s databases.
Xie apologised, stating that the data had been sourced from overseas social networking sites.
The case comes amid ongoing crackdown in China on data privacy breaches, with stricter laws in place to prevent unauthorised sharing of personal details.
The controversy has impacted investor confidence, with Baidu’s shares falling more than 4% in Hong Kong trading.
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