While pragmatist Pichai ploughs into China, Google workers fume over concession to censorship

Pichai’s new leadership style and priorities haven’t always sat well with the Google rank and file, who see the company as a defender of the open web

Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks onstage during the annual Google I/O developers conference in Mountain View, California, May 8, 2018. Photo: Reuters/Stephen Lam

Google staff awoke on Wednesday to surprising news: Their company is working on a search app tailored, and censored, for China. The project, kept secret from all but select teams and leaders, sparked a furious internal debate.

Yet the move could not have been entirely surprising for Googlers.

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