Baidu Beats Investor Suit on China Content Compliance, For Now

Baidu Inc. is free of allegations it made misleading statements about its ability to comply with Chinese content regulations after a federal judge in California dismissed the case, but investors can try to improve their complaint.

The Beijing-based search engine company’s investors accused it of touting its compliance with internet content regulations despite alleged screening failures. But the complaint failed to plead a material misrepresentation or that Baidu acted with the required state of mind, the U.S District Court for the Northern District of California said.

Investors challenged twelve Baidu statements for allegedly misleading them about the risk that ...