China restricts internet users by blocking websites, censoring words and clamping down on free speech.
More than a thousand Google employees have signed a letter criticising the company’s plan to launch a heavily censored version of its search engine in China.
In the letter, which is an internal petition, the employees asked for more transparency and oversight of Project Dragonfly, the project’s internal title.
«We urgently need more transparency, a seat at the table and a commitment to clear and open processes: Google employees need to know what we’re building,» the letter, seen by Reuters news agency, reads.
The employees are reportedly worried about kowtowing to China by implementing the government’s requests for censorship.
China restricts internet users massively by blocking websites, censoring words and clamping down on free speech.
In the letter, the employees say Google would be validating China’s restrictions on freedom of expression and violating its own clause in the company’s code of conduct «don’t be evil».
Google has not officially commented on the project, but following the letter, Google CEO Sundar Pichai told employees the project is still in early stages of development and it is still unknown if the search engine would launch at all.
