China's Top Search Engine Is Piracy Hub: US

Baidu.com provides links to illegal sites, says report
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 1, 2011 6:15 PM CST
China's Top Search Engine Is Piracy Hub: US
In this file 2010 photo, Robin Li, Baidu's chairman and chief executive officer, introduces the company's search engine at the Baidu Technology Conference, China.   (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

The US has listed China's top search engine—one of the 10 most popular websites in the world—as one of the most "notorious markets" for pirated software and media, Reuters reports. Baidu.com, the most popular website within China, was again singled out by the US trade representative's office as a site that provided links to pirated material.

The software on Baidu serves as an online counterpart to the physical computer piracy that occurs in open-air markets, says the US report. "Personal computer malls throughout China, such as Hailong PC Mall in Beijing and Yangpu Yigao Digital Square in Shanghai, sell computers with illegal operating system software and other unlawfully pre-installed software." More details on the report here. (More China stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X