INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Google search service could be poised to make a dramatic return to China next year, according to an explosive report from The
Intercept.
Google yanked its search service from China in 2010 in the face of pressure over censorship, but now the publication reports that
it has developed a censored version that could launch in the country in six to nine months, according to information supplied by a source
with knowledge of the plans
The alleged product would block Western services already outlawed in China, including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and also scrub
results for sensitive terms, such as the Tiananmen Square massacre, and international media includingthe BBC and New York Times.
Google
didn''t explicitly deny the report in a statement:
We provide a number of mobile apps in China, such as Google Translate and Files Go, help
Chinese developers, and have made significant investments in Chinese companies like JD.com
But we don''t comment on speculation about future plans,& a spokesperson told TechCrunch.
The insiderclaims that the search product is
codenamedDragonfly and that knowledge of it is limited to a handful of high-level Google executives, including CEO Sundar Pichai
The company is said to plan to operate a joint venture in China with an unnamed local company.
The Intercept said its source got in touch
out of concern that the project &will set a terrible precedent for many other companies who are still trying to do business in China while
maintaining the principles of not succumbing to China censorship.
There been plenty of speculation over the years that Google will re-enter
China with a meaningful product
That has tended to focus on the Play Store, but it looks like the search product has already gained considerable momentum
The Intercept reports that it hasbeen demonstrated to Chinese government officials, with Pichai himself having attended at least one meeting
with authorities.
Internal documents seen by The Intercept show that an Android app is the initial focus, but there could be scope for a
desktop version and more further down the line
The current concern, according to the publication, is ensuring that the service gains Chinese government approval and is good enough to
compete with what is already available to internet users in China.
The Intercept report comes less than a week after Facebook briefly
received approval to operate a subsidiary on Chinese soil
Its license was, however, revoked as news of the approval broke
The company said it had planned to open an innovation center, but it isn''t clear whether that will be possible now.
Facebook previously
built a censorship-friendly tool that could be deployed in China.
While its United States peer has struggled to get a read on China,Google
has been noticeably increasing its presence in the country over the past year or so.
The company has opened an AI lab in Beijing, been part
of investment rounds for Chinese companies, including a $550 million deal with JD.com, and inked a partnership with Tencent
It has also launched products, with a file management service for Androiddistributed via third-party app stores and, most recently, its
first mini program for Tencent popular WeChat messaging app.
The Intercept suggests that these dealings are a prelude to introducing
Dragonfly in a bid to capture a chunk of the 700 million internet user market that grown quickly since Google search business left the
