Report of new search engine causes uproar
Google is crafting a search engine that would meet China’s draconian censorship rules, a company employee said on Thursday, in a move decried by human rights activists.
Google withdrew its search engine from China eight years ago due to censorship and hacking but it is now working on a project for the country codenamed “Dragonfly”, the employee, who asked not to be named, said.
The search project can be tested within the company’s internal networks, the source said.
The news has caused anxiety within the company since it first emerged in US media reports on Wednesday.
The tech giant had already come under fire from thousands of employees, who signed a petition against a $10m (about R134m) contract with the US military, which was not renewed.
“There’s a lot of angst internally. Some people are very mad we’re doing it.”
A Google spokesperson declined to confirm or deny the existence of the project.
“We provide a number of mobile apps in China, such as Google Translate and Files Go, help Chinese developers, and have made significant investments in companies like JD.com,” Taj Meadows said.
“But we don’t comment on speculation about future plans.”
News website The Intercept first reported the story, saying the search app was being tailored for the Google-backed Android operating system.
Terms about human rights, democracy, religion and peaceful protests would be blacklisted, according to site.
The app will automatically identify and filter websites blocked by China’s Great Firewall, it said.
The New York Times, citing two people with knowledge of the plans, said that while the company has demonstrated the service to Chinese government officials, the existence of the project did not mean that Google’s return to China was imminent.
Citing relevant authorities, a state-owned newspaper said reports suggesting that Google was returning to the Chinese market do not conform to reality. Amnesty International urged Google to change course.
“It will be a dark day for internet freedom if Google has acquiesced to China’s extreme censorship rules to gain market access,” Patrick Poon said.
“In putting profits before human rights, Google would be setting a chilling precedent and handing the Chinese government a victory.”
The project comes amid a USChina trade war, with sides imposing tit-for-tat tariffs and President Donald Trump accusing Beijing of stealing US technological know-how. –