Google CEO Sundar Pichai discusses censored search application in China

"We wanted to know what Google would look like if we were in China, which is what we built internally," said Pichai. "If Google were to operate in China, what would it look like, what queries could we answer, it turns out that we will be able to answer more than 99% of queries and we would provide a lot of areas better information. than what is available ".

He used an example of how Google could provide better information on cancer treatment, apparently evoking a case in 2016 in which Chinese regulators investigated the domestic research giant Baidu, when a student died after finding "skewed" information about cancer treatment.

"Things like these weigh heavily on us," Pichai said. "So we want to strike a balance between these conditions and the conditions.We are very early – we do not know if we could do it or would do it in China, but we felt that it was important for us to do it. I take a long-term decision and I think it is important for us, given the number of users, to think seriously about this problem. "

Pichai did not mention the information that Google's potential application would link users' searches to their personal phone numbers.

Google initially withdrew its China search service in 2010 due to growing concerns over censorship and cyber attacks, subsequently losing access to the huge market of 772 million Internet users. Since then, China has been restricting more and more what its citizens can or can not do online, for example by removing foreign TV shows from online platforms and forcing online forum users to go online. register under their real name.

Since the news about the project was leaked, human rights groups and US politicians have asked Google to cancel its plans and hundreds of Google employees have signed a letter in which they claimed that it raised "urgent moral and ethical problems".

Pichai said on stage that, no matter which country Google operates in, it must reconcile its values ​​- "provide users with access to information, freedom of expression and privacy of users" – and respect local laws.