Google has ‘no plans’ to launch censored Chinese search engine, CEO Sundar Pichai says
- The tech titan has been working on what search could look like in China and is continuing to study the idea, CEO tells US lawmakers
Google has “no plans” to relaunch a search engine in China though it is continuing to study the idea, Chief Executive Sundar Pichai told a US congressional panel on Tuesday amid increased scrutiny of big tech firms.
Lawmakers and Google employees have raised concerns the company would comply with China’s internet censorship and surveillance policies if it re-enters the Asian nation’s search engine market.
Google’s main search platform has been blocked in China since 2010, but the Alphabet unit has been attempting to make new inroads into the country, which has the world’s largest number of smartphone users.
“Right now, there are no plans to launch search in China,” Pichai told the US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee.
But he added that internally Google has “developed and looked at what search could look like. We’ve had the project under way for a while. At one point, we’ve had over 100 people working on it is my understanding.”