A 30-year-old Chinese man filed a court case on Thursday (March 13) against Baidu (the fifth most frequently used website in the world) for promoting gay conversion therapy in its search results.
In the next few days, the Beijing court will decide whether to proceed with the lawsuit against Baidu and Chongqing-based Xin Yu Piao Xiang (XYPX). Baidu displayed advertising by XYPX that promised to cure homosexuality. The course of treatment provided to the Chinese man filing the suit (going by the name 'Xiao Zhen') involved electroshock therapy. Despite cutting short the treatment, the consequence has been increased emotional distress for Xiao Zhen.
According to volunteer lawyer, Huang Yizhi, Baidu has broken various laws for displaying advertisements by XYPX with false claims and giving priority to such claims in searches. XYPX is charged with making false promotional claims.