'Doxxing' scandal casts shadow over Baidu's AI model release

Angry internet users in China call for boycott of company's cloud services

20250318 Baidu logo

Baidu's headquarters in Beijing. The Chinese tech company is under public scrutiny after an executive's daughter shared the personal information of several social media users. (Photo by AFP/Jiji)

CISSY ZHOU

HONG KONG -- Chinese tech titan Baidu is facing a wave of online criticism and calls for boycotts of its cloud services after the teenage daughter of one of its executives "doxxed" social media users amid a spat over a K-pop singer.

It came to light on Monday that the daughter of Vice President Xie Guangjun, who works in Baidu's cloud unit, had repeatedly shared users' personal information such as their real name, ID numbers and phone numbers, as well as her own father's salary. She also allegedly made inflammatory comments such as "my family member gave me this personal information" and "you cannot catch me because I am in Canada," according to screenshots of her account taken by other social media users. The girl's account has since been deleted.

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