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posted by martyb on Wednesday December 12 2018, @02:14PM   Printer-friendly
from the LMGTFY dept.

Google's Sundar Pichai was grilled on privacy, data collection, and China during congressional hearing

Google's CEO testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday where lawmakers grilled him on a wide range of issues, including potential political bias on its platforms, its plans for a censored search app in China and its privacy practices.

This is the first time Pichai has appeared before Congress since Google declined to send him or Alphabet CEO Larry Page to a hearing on foreign election meddling earlier this year. That slight sparked anger among senators who portrayed Google as trying to skirt scrutiny.

[...] Tuesday's hearing was titled "Transparency & Accountability: Examining Google and its Data Collection, Use, and Filtering Practices" and many representatives posed questions on whether or not Google's search results were biased against conservative points of view.

[...] Another topic that came up multiple times was Google's plan to launch a censored search engine in China. The Intercept first reported details of the project over the summer, which would block search results for queries that the Chinese government deemed sensitive, like "human rights" and "student protest" and link users' searches to their personal phone numbers. [...] "Right now, we have no plans to launch search in China," Pichai answered, adding that access to information is "an important human right."

Also at Bloomberg and The Hill.

See also: Sundar Pichai had to explain to Congress why Googling 'idiot' turns up pictures of Trump
Google CEO admits company must better address the spread of conspiracy theories on YouTube
Alex Jones, Roger Stone crash Google CEO hearing
Monopoly man watches disapprovingly as Congress yells at Google's CEO

Previously: Google Plans to Launch Censored Search Engine in China, Leaked Documents Reveal
Uproar at Google after News of Censored China Search App Breaks
"Senior Google Scientist" Resigns over Chinese Search Engine Censorship Project
Google Suppresses Internal Memo About China Censorship; Eric Schmidt Predicts Internet Split
Leaked Transcript Contradicts Google's Denials About Censored Chinese Search Engine
Senators Demand Answers About Google+ Breach; Project Dragonfly Undermines Google's Neutrality


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  • (Score: 5, Informative) by DannyB on Wednesday December 12 2018, @07:32PM (6 children)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday December 12 2018, @07:32PM (#773623) Journal

    Translation? That doesn't seem like a translation.

    If the search engine is returning true results that you don't happen to like, it is not bias.

    --
    One thing British schools lack that American schools have is active shooter drills so we are prepared.
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  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday December 12 2018, @07:40PM (4 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday December 12 2018, @07:40PM (#773626) Journal

    If the search engine is returning true results that you don't happen to like, it is not bias.

    If the search engine is returning true results that you don't happen to like, it is not bias. Can't argue with that statement. Nor can you argue with my statement. A person who is favored by the bias is going to like the results of that bias.

    --
    “I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
    • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday December 12 2018, @08:48PM (3 children)

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday December 12 2018, @08:48PM (#773668) Journal

      > A person who is favored by the bias is going to like the results of that bias.

      True, assuming there is bias.

      Is it true that if Google profiles you as conservative, or into knitting, or baseball, they give you results more to your liking? (I don't know, but believe it to be true.)

      --
      One thing British schools lack that American schools have is active shooter drills so we are prepared.
      • (Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday December 12 2018, @09:52PM

        by DeathMonkey (1380) on Wednesday December 12 2018, @09:52PM (#773705) Journal

        Suddenly our conservatives don't understand how page-rank works.

        I wonder if they feel any shame pretending to be ignorant to fit in with their conservative buddies.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @09:58PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 12 2018, @09:58PM (#773713)

        What if you search for information about Nazis, and forever thereafter get results preferentially from neo-Nazi sites, especially every time you do a search in public?

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 13 2018, @06:42AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 13 2018, @06:42AM (#773912)

          Well, there's no reason to search for information on Nazi's unless you are a Nazi, so it makes sense.

  • (Score: 2) by shortscreen on Wednesday December 12 2018, @11:04PM

    by shortscreen (2252) on Wednesday December 12 2018, @11:04PM (#773754) Journal

    Last I knew, search engines were supposed to return relevant results. Has the mission now changed to returning only truthful results?