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 U. S. congressional panel on Tuesday.<\/b>
\nGoogle has \u201cno plans\u201d to relaunch a search engine in China though it is continuing to study the idea, Chief Executive Sundar Pichai told a U. S. congressional panel on Tuesday amid increased scrutiny of big tech firms.
Lawmakers and Google employees have raised concerns the company would comply with China\u2019s internet censorship and surveillance policies if it re-enters the Asian nation\u2019s search engine market.
Google\u2019s main search platform has been blocked in China since 2010, but the Alphabet Inc unit has been attempting to make new inroads into the country, which has the world\u2019s largest number of smartphone users.
\u201cRight now, there are no plans to launch search in China,\u201d Pichai told the U. S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee.
But he added that internally Google has \u201cdeveloped and looked at what search could look like. We\u2019ve had the project underway for a while. At one point, we\u2019ve had over 100 people working on it is my understanding.\u201d
Pichai said there are no current discussions with the Chinese government. He vowed that he would be \u201cfully transparent\u201d with policymakers if the company brings search products to China.
In a letter in August to U. S. lawmakers, Pichai said providing such a search engine would give \u201cbroad benefits\u201d to China but that it was unclear whether Google could launch the service there.
A Chinese government official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters last month that it was unlikely Google would get clearance to launch a search service in 2019.
Pichai did not say what steps Google would take to comply with Chinese laws if it re-entered the market.
Under questioning from Democratic Representative David Cicilline, Pichai said he would \u201chappy to engage\u201d to discuss legislation that would empower the Federal Trade Commission to address discriminatory conduct online.
Cicilline told Pichai it was \u201chard for me to imagine that you could operate in the Chinese market under the current government framework and maintain a commitment to universal values, such as freedom of expression and personal privacy.\u201d
The company\u2019s rivals in shopping and travel searches have long complained about being demoted in Google search results.
Much of the House hearing focused on Republican concerns that Google\u2019s search results are biased against conservatives and that the company had sought to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.
Democrats rejected that claim as \u201cfantasy,\u201d and at least one said the search results highlighted more conservative voices.
Pichai said the search engine attempts to help people register to vote or find a polling place, but rejected assertions the company paid for Latino voters\u2019 transportation to polls in some states.
\u201cWe don\u2019t engage in partisan activities,\u201d Pichai told the panel.<\/p>\n