Aug 1, 2018 - Technology

Report: Google creating censored search engine for China

Erica Pandey, author of @Work

Google China's headquarters in Beijing, pictured in 2010. Photo: Liu Jin/AFP via Getty Images

Google plans to build a censored search engine for the Chinese market, reports the Intercept, citing leaked documents with records of the plans.

Reality check: Even if Google is building a such a tool, it doesn't mean it's getting into China anytime soon. U.S. tech giants are willing to spend time and money to crack China's massive market, but winning government approval is difficult. Facebook was reportedly also working on a censorship tool in 2016, but the company hasn't been able to move into China since them.

The details, per the Intercept:

  • The search engine would "blacklist websites and search terms about human rights, democracy, religion, and peaceful protest."
  • The project is code-named "Dragonfly" and has been in the works since the spring of 2017, but progress accelerated after a December 2017 meeting between Google CEO Sundar Pichai and a top Chinese official.
  • Google developers have reportedly built an Android app with the censorship tool. It has been shown to the Chinese government, and "the finalized version could be launched in the next six to nine months, pending approval from Chinese officials."
  • A spokesperson for Google reached by Axios declined to comment on future plans in China.

The backdrop: Google's search engine has been banned in China for nearly a decade. The company shut down search engine operations in 2010 because of Chinese censorship laws.

Go deeper:

Go deeper

Axios
Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 7 p.m. ET: 12,859,834 — Total deaths: 567,123 — Total recoveries — 7,062,085 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 7 p.m. ET: 3,297,501— Total deaths: 135,155 — Total recoveries: 1,006,326 — Total tested: 40,282,176 — Map.
  3. States: Florida smashes single-day record for new coronavirus cases with over 15,000 — NYC reports zero coronavirus deaths for first time since pandemic hit.
  4. Public health: Ex-FDA chief projects "apex" of South's coronavirus curve in 2-3 weeks — Coronavirus testing czar: Lockdowns in hotspots "should be on the table"
  5. Education: Betsy DeVos says schools that don't reopen shouldn't get federal funds — Pelosi accuses Trump of "messing with the health of our children."
Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
Jonathan Swan
2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Scoop: How the White House is trying to trap leakers

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

President Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, has told several White House staffers he's fed specific nuggets of information to suspected leakers to see if they pass them on to reporters — a trap that would confirm his suspicions. "Meadows told me he was doing that," said one former White House official. "I don't know if it ever worked."

Why it matters: This hunt for leakers has put some White House staffers on edge, with multiple officials telling Axios that Meadows has been unusually vocal about his tactics. So far, he's caught only one person, for a minor leak.

Go deeper (4 min. read)Arrow
Jacob Knutson
5 hours ago - Politics & Policy

11 GOP congressional nominees support QAnon conspiracy

Lauren Boebert posing in her restaurant in Rifle, Colorado, on April 24. Photo: Emily Kask/AFP

At least 11 Republican congressional nominees have publicly supported or defended the QAnon conspiracy theory movement or some of its tenets — and more aligned with the movement may still find a way onto ballots this year.

Why it matters: Their progress shows how a fringe online forum built on unsubstantiated claims and flagged as a threat by the FBI is seeking a foothold in the U.S. political mainstream.

Go deeper (3 min. read)Arrow