Int' Student Sues Ofo, Baidu for Using Him in Their Ads
An international student is suing Chinese share-bike company Ofo and parent company Baidu after
he discovered his image was being used without his knowledge to promote
its "overseas strategy," a Beijing court revealed on Monday.
The unidentified student alleges Ofo-operator Beijing Bikelock Technology used his likeness as part of the company's online advertisements as well as being featured in the company's Baidu Encyclopedia page.
The
student, who is a citizen of Saudi Arabia, had demanded Ofo and Baidu
to remove all company advertisements featuring his likeness. As
compensation, the plaintiff is seeking damages worth RMB 300,000 (USD
46,800) as well as a public apology, reported the Haidian District People's Court.
First
arriving in China to study in 2011, the international student said he
was completely unaware of his appearance in an Ofo advertisement and was
only made aware of it when a friend saw it in an advertisement for an
online game.
The plaintiff noted that international students from
Saudi Arabia are not allowed to work and earn a salary while studying
in China as part of their visa requirements; a failure to comply may
result in a penalization.
As part of his lawsuit, the plaintiff
alleges that Ofo and Baidu used his foreign identity in its
advertisements as a way to publicize and promote their overseas
strategy.
At present, no such image featuring a Saudi Arabian citizen can be found on the Baidu Encyclopedia page
for Ofo. Without any confirmation, the image featured in this post
(shown above) may not necessarily be the offending advertisement.
Although
many expats come to China for educational or work purposes, they
sometimes find themselves in situations they could never have imagined.
After agreeing to do a Vice interview in 2014, American expat Tom Pellman discovered to his dismay that his words had been repurposed to promote high-end hutong restaurants in a 2017 Caixin lifestyle
article. And despite becoming fluent in Chinese and awarded as the
"2016 Ambassador of Chinese Tourism Promotions in the UK," a Briton
named Jackson found his reputation smeared when his image was used in an article titled "Female overseas students: Stay far away from these foreign male scum!"
READ: Ofo Announces USD 866 Million Funding Round Led by Alibaba amid Cash Strain Rumors
Meanwhile,
as China's bike-sharing market continues to heat up with billions of
yuan of investments, Ofo is currently denying media reports that the
company is laying off up to 50 percent of its staff after top executives
have left the company at the same time as a large number of customers
have begun demanding a return of their deposits.
Images: Sina Tech (tech.sina.com.cn), Jiemian.com
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