Baidu - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

Baidu is High Risk.

Baidu is High Risk. The company yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. Baidu embraces corporate initiatives that redirect its central focus from business goals to partisan policies and divisive issues. This approach fails to safeguard free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise.

Rating Criteria

Corporate Weaponization Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Cancellations	Medium Risk
Discriminatory Philanthropy	High Risk
Employment Protection	Medium Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	High Risk
Funding	High Risk
Political Actions	High Risk

Corporate Governance and Public Policy ⓘ

Rating Criteria Detail

Criteria Risk Level Rationale

Corporate Weaponization

Criteria:

Has canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

While Baidu has not publicly canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (1). However, it should be noted that the company does have close relations with the CCP.

Criteria:

Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

The Baidu Public Welfare Mission is “To subsidize youth, disadvantaged groups, poor areas and social welfare institutions to improve the application of information technology, promote the establishment of public welfare information platforms, and subsidize public welfare projects carrying themes including poverty relief, health, disaster relief, education, environmental protection” (1). Baidu’s charitable giving does not include religious organizations, and the CCP regularly cracks down on religious practices.

Criteria:

Employment policies fail to protect against viewpoint or other discrimination and/or are ideological in nature.

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

Baidu does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (1).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

Uses corporate reputation to support causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Baidu has created a CCP committee to ensure its policies remain aligned with the goals of the Party (1).

Criteria:

Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Since Baidu has a CCP committee at the company, it likely has close economic ties to the ruling government (1). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of the company using corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (2).

Criteria:

Uses corporate political actions and/or financial contributions for ideological, non-business purposes.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

While Baidu cannot make political donations in the United States, the company was involved in a report where a Democrat super PAC was gifted $100,000 in Baidu stock from an anonymous donor (1)(2)(3)(4).