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posted by mrpg on Friday August 03 2018, @12:30AM   Printer-friendly
from the censorship dept.

Google is planning to launch a censored version of its search engine in China that will blacklist websites and search terms about human rights, democracy, religion, and peaceful protest, The Intercept can reveal.

The project – code-named Dragonfly – has been underway since spring of last year, and accelerated following a December 2017 meeting between Google's CEO Sundar Pichai and a top Chinese government official, according to internal Google documents and people familiar with the plans.

Teams of programmers and engineers at Google have created a custom Android app, different versions of which have been named "Maotai" and "Longfei." The app has already been demonstrated to the Chinese government; the finalized version could be launched in the next six to nine months, pending approval from Chinese officials.

Or does it not? China denies google's plans for a censored version

[...] Chinese state-owned Securities Times, however, said reports of the return of Google's search engine to China were not true, citing information from "relevant departments".

But a Google employee familiar with the censored version of the search engine confirmed to Reuters that the project was alive and genuine.

On an internal message board, the employee wrote: "In my opinion, it is just as bad as the leak article mentions."


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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 03 2018, @04:37AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 03 2018, @04:37AM (#716554)
    Companies do not mess with other countries, unless ordered to. Human rights abroad are managed by politicians and diplomats, sometimes by sanctions, blockade and war humanitarian bombings.
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