Baidu Vice President's Daughter Disseminates Personal Information of Jang Wonyoung

The vice president of Baidu, China's largest search portal, has apologized for the controversial dissemination of his daughter's personal information.

"My 13-year-old daughter got into an argument with another user online and, unable to control her emotions, spread other people's personal information through her overseas social media accounts," Baidu Vice President Xue Guangjun said on Weibo on Sunday. "As a father, I failed to teach her the importance of privacy," he said, adding, "I feel deeply guilty and solemnly apologize to those affected."

The controversy began when a pregnant woman wrote a slanderous post on Weibo criticizing group IVE member Jang Wonyoung. A woman then launched a cyberattack, unauthorizedly distributing the personal information of about 100 people, including the author. As the controversy spread, netizens realized that the leaker was the daughter of a Baidu vice president.

Under China's criminal law, the unauthorized provision or sale of personal information can result in up to three years in prison or a fine. In addition, publicly insulting others online can result in a minimum of five days in detention or a fine of 500 yuan (about $100).

In the wake of the incident, Chinese netizens have also raised privacy concerns, pointing to security vulnerabilities in Baidu's database.