Baidu apologizes after having cloud users share their internet bandwidth by default
The Chinese search giant says its cloud service employs peer-to-peer delivery to speed up downloads
Imagine this: You sign up for a cloud storage service thinking you’ll only be using the company’s servers. But then without asking, your provider not only takes up your computer’s storage space, but also uses your internet bandwidth to distribute files.
This is what recently happened to users of Baidu Cloud, or Baidu Wangpan, when users were enrolled in a new incentive program by default. Users say they were offered award points in exchange for the use of up to 1MB/s of their internet upload bandwidth and 5GB of storage space for seven hours a day. Users can disable the function, but only if they go into settings and uncheck the option themselves.
Meet Baidu, China’s homegrown search engine
Baidu says it’s making use of peer-to-peer (P2P) delivery technology. This means Baidu stores files it hosts on a user's computer. When another user wants to download those files, they can be transmitted directly from one user's computer to another without touching Baidu's servers. It’s designed to prevent a single server from becoming overloaded. But as anyone who has used BitTorrent knows, the downside of P2P is that it eats into the computer’s upload bandwidth and can slow down internet speeds.
While Baidu isn’t the only one using the technology, it triggered an uproar from users who accuse the company of deceiving its customers.