Baidu controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
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2024
Public relations vice president Qu Jing sparks workplace controversy with short-video remarks and leaves
In May 2024, Baidu public relations head Qu Jing emphasized long business trips and results orientation while downplaying employees' family and emotional needs in personal short videos, triggering public criticism of management style. Qu Jing later apologized, saying the remarks did not represent Baidu's position; the Associated Press reported her departure. The incident is a controversy over public remarks and workplace culture.
2022
Court orders compensation in Baidu search-ranking dispute
Ruling
The Haidian District Court ruled at first instance that Shenzhen I Love Network Technology Co. must publish a statement to eliminate the impact and pay Baidu economic losses of RMB 2 million plus RMB 50,000 in reasonable expenses. The court found the conduct constituted unfair competition.
Source excerpt
海淀法院经审理，一审判决我爱网络公司登报消除影响并赔偿经济损失200万元及合理开支5万元。
被告的行为扰乱了竞争秩序，构成不正当竞争。
2022
Court rules against I Love Network in Baidu search-manipulation case
Ruling
A Beijing Haidian court ruled at first instance that I Love Network must publish a notice to eliminate the impact and pay 2 million yuan in economic losses plus 50,000 yuan in reasonable expenses in a case brought by Baidu. The court found that the site helped users generate fake clicks and interfere with Baidu search rankings.
Source excerpt
海淀法院经审理，一审判决我爱网络公司登报消除影响并赔偿经济损失 200 万元及合理开支 5 万元。
法院经审理认为，“我爱网”直接针对百度搜索引擎进行了定制式的运营。
2021
China fines Citic Bank and a Baidu unit over joint-venture reporting
Fine or penalty
In a 2021 enforcement action, China's antitrust regulator fined China Citic Bank and Fujian Baidu Bo Rui Netcom 500,000 yuan each. The penalty concerned the companies' failure to report their digital-bank joint venture before its formation in 2015. The regulator's action addressed the pre-formation reporting requirement for the joint venture.
China’s antitrust regulator fined China Citic Bank and Fujian Baidu Bo Rui Netcom 500,000 yuan each for failing to report their digital-bank joint venture before its formation in 2015.
Source excerpt
Fujian Baidu is controlled by Baidu, operator of mainland China’s dominant internet search engine.
The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) said on its website on the weekend that China Citic Bank and Fujian Baidu Bo Rui Netcom, which own 70 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively, of Citic AiBank, had violated the country’s anti-monopoly law.
China’s antitrust regulator has expanded its anti-monopoly crackdown to the banking sector, penalising the two shareholders of a digital bank 500,000 yuan (US$78,280) each for failing to report their joint venture ahead of its formation in 2015.
2021
China fines technology companies for failing to report deals
Fine or penalty
In November 2021, China's market regulator fined Alibaba, Baidu, JD.com and other companies 500,000 yuan each for failing to declare 43 deals, stating that the companies had violated antitrust legislation. The regulator said the deals did not eliminate or restrict competition.
Source excerpt
Enterprises involved in the cases would be fined 500,000 yuan ($78,000) each, it said, the maximum under China's 2008 Anti-Monopoly Law.
The deals, however, did not have the effect of eliminating or restricting competition, the regulator said.
China's market regulator on Saturday said it was fining companies including Alibaba, Baidu, and JD.com for failing to declare 43 deals that date as far back as 2012 to authorities, saying that they violated antitrust legislation, Reuters reported.
2021
Court awards Baidu damages in unfair competition case
Ruling
A court ruled at first instance that Shanghai Zhengkai Information Technology had interfered with users' normal use of Baidu search by inserting links that redirected users to its website, and ordered Zhengkai to pay Baidu RMB 800,000 in economic losses and RMB 30,000 in reasonable expenses. Zhengkai appealed.
Source excerpt
涉案链接将用户引出百度网，大大降低了用户使用百度网进行搜索的交易机会以及再次回到百度网中浏览相关信息的可能，而政凯公司却据此获取了本不属于其自身的用户流量，从而获取不正当利益。
宣判后，被告政凯公司提起上诉。
海淀法院经审理，一审判决政凯公司赔偿百度公司经济损失80万元及合理开支3万元。
2021
Court rules in Baidu's favor in unfair competition case
Ruling
The court found that Zile Company’s use of the “Xiaodu” and “xiaodu xiaodu” voice commands in the Du Yaya learning machine constituted unfair competition against Baidu Online, and ordered it to eliminate the impact and compensate Baidu Online for RMB 500,000 in economic losses and RMB 50,000 in reasonable expenses. The report noted that it remains unclear whether either party will appeal.
Source excerpt
日前，海淀法院审结了此案，一审判决子乐公司就其不正当竞争行为消除影响，赔偿百度在线公司经济损失50万元及合理开支5万元。
目前，双方当事人尚未明确是否上诉。
子乐公司上述行为违反了反不正当竞争法第六条第一项及第四条之规定，对百度在线公司构成不正当竞争。
2020
Baidu Initiates Lawsuit Over Report
Lawsuit filed
In April 2020, Baidu stated that it was initiating a lawsuit against the author of an article. According to Baidu, the article contained a series of seriously false claims, including a claim that the company's CFO would leave. Baidu described the article's contents as untrue and said it was taking legal action against the author in response. The statement did not specify further details about the claims or the lawsuit.
Baidu said it was initiating a lawsuit against the author of an article that it described as containing a series of seriously false claims, including a claim that its CFO would leave.
Company response
Denial — 百度
存在包括CFO将离职等一系列严重不实信息
Source excerpt
对于该文章报道，百度近日作出回应：《百度没有Plan B | 深响独家》一文中，存在包括CFO将离职等一系列严重不实信息，百度公司正在对该文章作者发起诉讼。
2020
Court orders Dreamyou to compensate Baidu
Ruling
In a ruling by the Haidian District Court, Suzhou Mengxiyou Network Technology Co., Ltd. was found to have engaged in conduct constituting unfair competition. The court ordered the company to compensate Baidu RMB 2 million for economic losses and RMB 30,000 for reasonable expenses. The decision addressed the company's conduct as unfair competition and set the corresponding compensation amounts payable to Baidu.
The Haidian District Court ruled that Suzhou Mengxiyou Network Technology Co., Ltd.'s conduct constituted unfair competition and ordered it to pay Baidu RMB 2 million in economic losses and RMB 30,000 in reasonable expenses.
Source excerpt
目前这一案件已经审结，海淀法院判决梦西游公司赔偿百度公司经济损失200万元及合理开支3万元。
根据反不正当竞争法第十二条第二款第四项的规定，被诉行为构成不正当竞争。
2020
Court orders Hunan Lando to stop using Baidu trademarks
Ban or restriction
A Hunan court ordered Hunan Lando to immediately stop using Baidu trademarks, according to a report. The report states that Baidu had sued Hunan Lando in September and that the case was still being heard at the time of the report. The report does not specify the court's reasoning, the scope of the trademarks involved, or any further outcome beyond the order to stop use.
Source excerpt
目前，案件正在审理过程中，为避免原告权益持续受到损害，法院下达“禁止令”裁定。
近日，湖南法院针对湖南蓝度公司的商标侵权行为下达“禁止令”，要求其立即停止使用“百度”等商标。
2020
Qiu Shi Baike operator sues Baidu over app listing
Lawsuit filed
Qiu Shi Baike's operator sued Baidu, alleging that an app using the “Qiu Bai” wording infringed its registered trademark and constituted unfair competition; the case was heard on January 19 and had not been ruled on in court that day.
Source excerpt
原告认为，“糗百神器”APP未经许可擅自使用“糗百”字样作为其APP名称，恶意攀附，实施混淆行为，严重侵害原告的合法权利，构成不正当竞争。
因“糗百神器”APP擅自使用“糗百”字样，糗事百科运营商友际无限科技有限公司认为自己的注册商标专用权受到侵犯，后将提供下载链接的北京百度网讯科技有限公司（简称“百度”）告上法庭。1月19日，该案在北京市朝阳区人民法院开庭审理。
2019
Baidu sues Toutiao over search results
Lawsuit filed
Baidu filed a lawsuit against Toutiao, alleging that Toutiao interfered with search results and thereby helped its own Xigua Video service obtain an improper competitive advantage. Baidu sought an order requiring the alleged unfair competition to stop, as well as compensation. The dispute concerns claims by Baidu that Toutiao's conduct affected the presentation of search results in a way that favored Xigua Video. No further details on the proceedings, the amount of compensation sought, or the outcome are provided in the source.
Baidu sued Toutiao, alleging that Toutiao interfered with search results and helped its own Xigua Video service gain an improper competitive advantage. Baidu sought an order to stop the alleged unfair competition and compensation.
Company response
Clarification — 今日头条
头条搜索称，自上线以来，一直支持品牌保护，无论品牌方是否购买头条搜索的广告服务，都会获得这一原则的保护。
Source excerpt
百度认为今日头条作为网络搜索引擎服务提供者，却在帮助自己运营的西瓜视频不当获取竞争优势，该行为干预了搜索结果，掠夺本属于百度的商业机会，于是将今日头条告上法庭，要求今日头条立即停止不正当竞争行为，并赔偿经济损失及合理支出100万元，消除影响。
针对不久前百度公司诉其“干预搜索结果”的百万官司，30日上午今日头条在官方微信公众号上正面做出了声明回应。
百度认为今日头条作为网络搜索引擎服务提供者，却在帮助自己运营的西瓜视频不当获取竞争优势，该行为干预了搜索结果，掠夺本属于百度的商业机会，于是将今日头条告上法庭
2019
Beijing communications regulator summons app companies over data practices
Issue disclosure
The Beijing communications regulator summoned 17 app companies, including Baidu, 360 Mobile Guard, iQIYI, Sogou Input Method and Qunar, over issues including improper collection and use of user information and forced authorization, and required rectification by a deadline.
Source excerpt
近日，北京市通信管理局严格落实工业和信息化部相关工作要求，就APP数据安全问题集中约谈了百度、360手机卫士、猎豹安全大师、爱奇艺、搜狗输入法、知乎、36氪、去哪儿、春雨医生、新东方在线等17家App企业，对企业违规收集使用用户信息、强制授权等问题提出书面整改要求，要求限期整改。
2019
Baidu entities sue Toutiao operator over alleged unfair competition
Lawsuit filed
Two Baidu entities sued Beijing ByteDance Technology Co. in court, alleging that Toutiao used their video products as search-ad keywords and interfered with search results. They sought an order to stop the conduct and RMB 1 million in damages and reasonable expenses; the court said it had accepted the case.
Source excerpt
中国知名搜索平台百度以不正当竞争为由将中国应用今日头条的运营商、北京字节跳动科技有限公司诉至法院，要求其立即停止不正当竞争行为，并赔偿经济损失及合理支出，共计100万元
北京市海淀区人民法院今天（19日）发布消息称，该院已经受理此案。
2018
Criticism of paid search and result reliability
Baidu faced public and media criticism over the prominence of paid search results and concerns that advertising relationships could affect users' interpretation of search information.
2016
Wei Zexi incident triggers joint investigation and rectification of paid search
After the 2016 Wei Zexi incident, a joint investigation team found that Baidu's bidding ranking had excessive paid weighting and unclear identification of commercial promotions, affecting the fairness and objectivity of search results and objectively affecting users' medical choices, and ordered rectification and limits on the proportion of promotional information. This conclusion does not amount to a finding that Baidu directly caused his death.
2016
Commercial operation of hemophilia forum sparks controversy over medical information and management failures
In January 2016, the replacement of the original managers of Baidu's hemophilia forum and the participation of commercial organizations in its operation sparked complaints from patients and doubts about the reliability of medical information. Baidu stopped commercial cooperation on disease-related forums and acknowledged failures in operation and management; the Cyberspace Administration of China summoned the company for talks. In February, the company issued internal criticism and reduced bonuses for relevant executives.
2010
Baidu domain hijacking incident
Baidu's domain was redirected after changes to its DNS and account information. The company blamed failures in registrar security procedures and brought a legal claim that was later settled.