News Courtesy of SearchEngineLand.com:
At a conference in San Francisco on Monday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai for the first time discussed the existence of censored search engine for the Chinese market. The news of the project was originally reported by The Intercept in August.
Previously leaked details of the project, code-named “Project Dragonfly,” have focused on the how the tool would censor content deemed offensive by the Chinese government (e.g., queries about “human rights”). An internal memo generated by Google employees also reportedly explained that Chinese users would be closely tracked and that the Chinese government would have complete access to their data: “The memo, authored by a Google engineer who was asked to work on the project, disclosed that the search system, code-named Dragonfly, would require users to log in to perform searches, track their location — and share the resulting history with a Chinese partner who would have ‘unilateral access’ to the data.”
Ryan’s Take 
This looks like a project right up Google’s alley. Track user queries and history, report that data to the Chinese government. So what happens if a Chinese citizen does search for “human rights”? Do they need to be fearful of getting a knock on the door the next day?
Don’t get me wrong. I think that censorship has its place in certain cases. Here in the U.S. wild allegations and opinions get published as fact. It’s difficult to trust any major media source as being unbiased and without an agenda. However, at least we have access to multiple viewpoints on hot-button topics.
Google’s stance on this issue with China contradicts what they preach about their core values. It very much seems like a money grab. Although, they certainly haven’t gotten where they are today by playing it safe.
China’s Baidu search engine has an estimated 66% of the market share in the country. It would be very difficult for Google to compete with them, at least in the beginning. I wouldn’t say impossible though. Just give Chinese citizens a reason (such as a useful service tied to the search platform) to migrate over. Add a little flair and creative UX design and I’m sure people will make the switch. I just hope it isn’t at the expense of an extreme neglect for moral and ethical standards.
