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Int' Student Sues Ofo, Baidu for Using Him in Their Ads

Charles L. theBeijinger 2018-10-18

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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