--- title: "Google CEO: “No Plans” To Launch Censored Chinese Search Engine" description: "In a hearing in front of a House Committee, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that Google had \"no plans\" to launch a search product in China." date: "2018-12-11" modified: "2018-12-11" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/sundar-pichai-google-ceo-no-plans-censor-china-search-engine-dragonfly" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Future Society" - "Google" tags: - "china" - "congress" - "Google" - "sundar pichai" --- # Google CEO: “No Plans” To Launch Censored Chinese Search Engine ![In a hearing in front of a House Committee, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that Google had "no plans" to launch a search product in China.]() *\Image: Tag Hartman-Simkins\* ## Grilling Executives Another day, another tech executive being grilled in front of Congress. On the menu today: Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Pichai had a lot of questions to answer at a hearing in front of a stern-faced House Judiciary Committee. He was asked to to attend the hearing to discuss topics ranging from Google's data collection policies to why [Donald Trump's face shows up]() when you google the word "idiot." ## Dragonfly But the topic that kept coming up throughout the hearing was Google's Dragonfly — a secretive mission to develop a censored search engine in China, [first uncovered]() by *The Intercept* back in August. Dragonfly allegedly is — or was — a modified search engine that blacklists controversial search terms, tracks the user's IP address, and shares sensitive data with Chinese authorities. But in today's hearing, Pichai denied that Google had any plans to launch any search product in China — at least any time soon. He didn't even mention China at all in his opening remarks, as Recode [pointed out](). “Right now we have no plans to launch in China,” said Pichai at the hearing. ## But It's Real Pichai didn't deny Dragonfly's existence, though. According to Pichai, Google had over [100 people working on it]() at one point, and the project had been "underway for a while." But will Google's Dragonfly ever launch in China? That's becoming increasingly unlikely. The project has been extremely controversial ever since news broke over its existence, [prompting walkouts]() of Google employees. *The Verge* [reports]() there might even be plans for a strike circulating. READ MORE: [Google CEO Says No Plan to ‘Launch’ Censored Search Engine in China]() \[Motherboard\] ***More on Dragonfly:** [The World of the Future Will Have Two Separate Internets, Former Google CEO Predicts]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()