Thought Leadership
The daughter of the Baidu vice president is said to have published personal user data – but the Chinese technology company firmly rejects accusations of an internal data leak.
The incident began when a Weibo user sparked outrage after posting personal details of several Chinese internet users who had criticized her comments about K-pop star Jang Won-young. The user is alleged to have obtained personal information of other internet users, including details of a pregnant woman, and incited online harassment against them. The user’s identity was later revealed to be the 13-year-old daughter of Baidu Vice President Xie Guangjun, as a certificate of employment from her father was found that she had posted online.
“Data does not originate from Baidu systems”
In an official statement, the company emphasized that all employees – regardless of their position – are strictly prohibited from accessing user data. According to Baidu, the published information originated from “doxing databases” on foreign platforms that aggregate stolen private data.
“We have strict protocols in place to prevent unauthorized access to any user data,” explained a company spokesperson. “The information in question was demonstrably not taken from our internal systems.”
Police report against false information
In response to ongoing speculation, Baidu has filed a complaint with the police. This is directed against the spread of false information, including allegations that the teenager had admitted that her father had given her access to the database.
Xie Guangjun, who is part of the company’s cloud division, apologized for his daughter’s behaviour on Monday. In a post on his personal WeChat account, he explained, according to Chinese media, that his daughter had obtained the information from foreign social networking sites.
Baidu, which offers cloud services, AI solutions and autonomous driving technologies in addition to its market-leading search engine, is one of China’s most influential technology groups. The company also operates a wide range of internet services, including maps, encyclopaedias and financial platforms, which are used by hundreds of millions of Chinese users every day.
