Google China's research plans questioned by US senators

Google plans to revive research in China were a turning point Wednesday during a hearing in Senate Committee on the confidentiality of online data by the Americans.

Google, one of the few companies that sent a senior officer to testify before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, has been questioned several times about its intention to resume a search engine in China. there are years on censorship issues.

In August, Intercept said Google had decided to launch a search engine in China that would yield to the laws of that country and blacklist certain search terms, such as human rights, democracy, religion and others. In addition, Jack Poulson, a researcher who stopped working at Google last August, wrote a letter to the Senate committee leaders detailing the project, called Dragonfly. For example, Poulson says the company has a prototype interface that would allow a Chinese partner company to access users' search history based on their phone numbers – a concern given the government's history. in the area of ​​repression of dissidents.

"How will Google reconcile its declared privacy values ​​with this flawed Chinese search engine and the very real possibility that it can be used to suppress human rights?" Asked the Senator Maggie Hassan, D-New Hampshire.

As he did several times during the hearing, which was broadcast live, Google's privacy officer, Keith Enright, said the company was not "close Of the launch of a search engine in China. "If we were, my team would be actively involved," he added.

Enright said later, in response to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, that "there is a Dragonfly project," but that in his capacity as the privacy officer of the company, project. "

Google researcher Ben Gomes also told the news organization earlier this week that the project was "exploratory".

Poulson, the former Googler, also noted in his letter that the details on Project Dragonfly were "discussed in depth" internally and that "this discussion has been increasingly stifled".

Asked about Poulson's letter, a spokesman for Google would refer only to the company's initial statement about Project Dragonfly, saying the company "has been investing for many years to help Chinese users."

Other giants of technology have not escaped the questions about China. Senator Cory Gardner, R-Colorado, asked Apple and Amazon executives about their company's policies in this country, including their "respect for Chinese requirements."