Google chief executive set to testify in front of Congress in December

Google chief executive Sundar Pichai is set to testify to Congress in December, facing off against lawmakers for the first time at a hearing that could subject the search giant to the same harsh political spotlight that has faced its tech peers all year.

The scheduled Dec. 5 hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, confirmed by three sources familiar with the plan but not authorized to speak on record, comes in response to some Republicans who claim that Google, like its tech peers, is biased against conservatives.

A spokesman for the panel's GOP leader, Virginia Rep. Bob Goodlatte, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Google also did not immediately respond.

Led by House Majority Leader Kevin Mccarthy, Calif., GOP lawmakers long have blasted Google for allegedly silencing right-leaning news, views and users, and President Donald Trump similarly has claimed the company promotes negative stories about his administration. Neither has provided significant evidence that Google is biased, however, and Google has vehemently denied the accusations.

But lingering suspicions about the inner workings of Google’s powerful search algorithms still prompted Mccarthy to request Pichai’s testimony to Congress during their meeting on Capitol Hill in September - and Pichai agreed.

“There’s a lot of interest in their algorithm, how those algorithms work, how those algorithms are supervised,” Goodlatte, the outgoing chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said during an interview at the time.