US politicians ask Google about censorship of search engine in China

A group of 16 US politicians, consisting of Democrats and Republicans, want clarification from Google about the consequences of its plans to re-enter the Chinese market. There is growing criticism of those plans.

The members of the US House of Representatives express their concerns about the plans, according to Reuters in the letter to Google. They ask the company to ensure that Chinese citizens and foreigners in China are not targeted by surveillance using Google applications. Google has not yet responded to the letter, but said in a statement to Reuters that it has been investigating how it can help Chinese users for years and that its work on the search service for China is still in an “exploratory” phase. The latter said Google CEO Sundar Pichai earlier in an attempt to allay concerns.

In early August, reports appeared that Google is working on Project Dragonfly. This would be an app for Android that censors results on certain topics that the Chinese government deems sensitive. Google did not deny that it is working on the project. Whether there will actually be an introduction would depend on Beijing approval and functionality; it should be better than existing search services in China.

Earlier, US senators and fourteen human rights organizations were critical of Google’s plans to re-enter the Chinese market. There is also resistance within the company itself. More than a thousand Google employees expressed their concerns in a statement. The Intercept says Jack Poulson, a machine intelligence researcher, resigned from Google because of Dragonfly. According to him, there are about five others who have left the company for the same reason.