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Broken emails
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A bipartisan group of 16 US lawmakers on Thursday asked Google Alphabet Inc. if it would comply with censorship and internet surveillance policies in China when it was to re-enter the Chinese search engine market.
The questioning added to the pressure on Google to reveal the precautions to take to protect the security of its users if the Chinese regulators allowed the operation of its search engine.
More than 1,000 Google employees, six US senators and at least 14 human rights groups have written to the company expressing concerns about its ambitions in China.
On Thursday, Jack Poulson, a researcher who had been working for Google for more than two years, said he had resigned because he felt the company was not meeting its commitment to human rights standards when designing the search application.
Poulson told Reuters that the leaders would not tell him where the company would be willing to accept Chinese requests.
"Unfortunately, the almost unanimous response over three very difficult weeks was:" I do not know either, "said Poulson.
He was among a handful of people who resigned, he told Intercept's online publication, which first reported his action.
Google declined to directly comment on the lawmakers' letter or resigns but said in a statement that it had "been investing for many years to help Chinese users" and described its "research work" for China as "exploratory" launch. "
Reuters reported last month that Google was considering seeking government permission to provide a version of its search engine in China that blocks certain websites and search terms.
Members of the US House of Representatives, including liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans, said Thursday in their letter that they had "serious concerns" about this potential step.
The letter asked if Google "would ensure that Chinese citizens or foreigners living in China, including Americans, are not monitored or targeted by Google applications."
Representative David Cicilline, a Democrat and signatory of the letter, wrote on Twitter that "Google should not help China crack down on freedom of expression and political dissent".
Other signatories include Representative Michael McCaul, a Republican who chairs the Homeland Security Committee.
The company may be faced with questions about China when it will testify on confidentiality issues before a Senate panel on Sept. 26.
Majority leader Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, said Tuesday that Google would be invited to testify on a number of issues. He wrote on Twitter that Google had worked with China and Russia on censorship but that he no longer wanted to enter into a technology deal with the US Department of Defense.
Google's main search platform has been stuck in China since 2010, but it has tried to make new breakthroughs in the world's largest smartphone market.
The reinstatement of Google is not guaranteed as China has stepped up its control of business transactions involving US companies, including Facebook Inc. and Apple Inc., as trade tensions intensify between Beijing and Washington.
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