China Policy Expert: Google Is ‘Highly Embarrassed’ by Censored Search Engine Leak

Li Xin/AFP/Getty Images
Li Xin/AFP/Getty Images

In a recent interview, a China policy expert stated that Big Tech giant Google is “highly embarrassed” over the recent “Project Dragonfly” leaks which showed the company planning to launch a censored search engine in China.

In an interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Dr. Michael Pillsbury, author of The Hundred-Year Marathon: China’s Secret Strategy to Replace America As the Global Superpower, discussed the recent actions of Google. One of the key issues discussed by Pillsbury was the creation of Google’s Chinese censored search engine “Project Dragonfly.”

The search giant’s project has been in development since Spring of 2017, and was accelerated in December 2017, following a meeting between company CEO Sundar Pichai and top Chinese government officials. Google engineers have created custom apps named “Maotai” and “Longfei,” which have already been demonstrated for Chinese officials and could be launched within the next six to nine months.

Currently, the company’s search service cannot be accessed in China, meaning that the company is missing out on quite a large ad market, something which this new project likely hopes to fix. China employs a digital censorship system known as the “Great Firewall of China” that prevents citizens from accessing websites such as Google and Facebook, it would appear that Google’s new search engine will comply with strict Chinese censorship laws in order to operate within the country.

Pillsbury noted that eight years ago, Google co-founder Sergey brin received praise for refusing to do business with the Chinese government, a decision which now appears to have been completely reversed. “Fast forward eight years and Google has reversed itself, but done so secretly,” said Pillsbury, who believes that Congress should subpoena Google CEO Sundar Pichai and other executives to discover more about Project Dragonfly.

Pillsbury said during the interview that Google is “highly embarrassed” about the leak of the censored search engine, stating that only a small group of employees even knew about the project. “I hate to say it’s a scandal, we use that word too much in Washington, but it’s a growing problem for Google,” said Pillsbury.

One of Google’s senior research scientists recently resigned over the Project Dragonfly leaks.

A Google spokesperson told Fox News: “We’ve been investing for many years to help Chinese users, from developing Android, through mobile apps such as Google Translate and Files Go, and our developer tools. But our work on search has been exploratory, and we are not close to launching a search product in China.”

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com

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