Google informs US lawmakers that it is considering options on services in China

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.OThe Google unit told US lawmakers that it was considering "various options" to offer additional services in China, but declined to detail its plans for Chinese censorship.

The company has been criticized after reports that it plans to return to the Chinese search engine market and comply with its censorship and Internet surveillance policies.

Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Google, said Friday in a letter addressed publicly to six senators that the company was considering "to think about various options to provide services in China compatible with our mission".

The letter was reported earlier by The Intercept, a news site. Google declined to comment.

Reuters and other media announced in August that Google was planning to launch a version of its search engine in China that would block certain websites and search terms. This decision would mark her return to a market she had abandoned eight years ago for reasons of censorship.

Senator Mark Warner, the most Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said Friday that he was "really disappointed by Google's response," in his letter to senators' questions about the company's plans in China.

Google said that it was "unclear" to know if it was going to use a search engine in China and that it "was not able to respond to detailed questions ".

"Their response to the Senate did not provide any information on Google's plans to launch a censored search engine in China," Warner said. "Any effort to return to China could allow the Chinese government to repress and manipulate their citizens."

In September, a bipartisan group of 16 US lawmakers asked Google to disclose precautions to protect the security of its users if Chinese regulators allow the operation of its search engine.

The letter states that Google "is committed to promoting access to information, freedom of expression and privacy of users, as well as to respect the laws of the countries in which we operate. "

On Thursday, three other US senators wrote to Pichai to explain why he delayed posting vulnerabilities on his Google+ social network.