Google CEO Tells Employees Company Isn't Close to Launching Search Engine in China
17 August 2018 - 11:45AM
Dow Jones News
By Douglas MacMillan
Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai told employees that
the internet giant is "not close to launching a search product in
China" and is carefully considering how it will do business in the
country, according to a person briefed on the comments.
Mr. Pichai, speaking Thursday at a weekly all-hands meeting in
Mountain View, Calif., was responding to criticism from employees,
human rights groups and others who in recent days have voiced
concerns over the Alphabet Inc. unit's work with the Chinese
government. Google is developing services for Chinese citizens,
including a search engine that could adhere to China's strict
censors, The Wall Street Journal and others reported last week.
Google is balancing its desire to expand its business in China
-- a market with the world's largest internet population -- with
its identity as a champion of human rights. Google withdrew its
search engine from China in 2010 to protest the government's
censorship regime and attempts to hack into the Gmail accounts of
Chinese human rights activists. At the time, Google co-founder
Sergey Brin described the government as having the "earmarks of
totalitarianism" of the Soviet Union, where he was born.
The company is also contending with an increasingly activist
workforce that is pushing management to be more transparent in its
decision-making over controversial issues like China.
Pressure from Google employees helped sway the company's
decision earlier this year not to renew a Defense Department
contract helping the U.S. government identify images for drone
targeting. Employee objections to that effort, called "Project
Maven," also helped push the company to adopt a new ethical review
process guiding its deployment of artificial intelligence
technology.
Write to Douglas MacMillan at douglas.macmillan@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 16, 2018 21:30 ET (01:30 GMT)
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