Google has reportedly ended its Search Engine Project for China
By MYBRANDBOOK
The global Tech player Google has been forced to shut down its Dragonfly Project after an internal confrontation over data privacy. It was using to develop a censored search engine for China after members of the company’s privacy team raised internal complaints that it had been kept secret from them according to a new report by The Intercept.
Dragonfly has been one of Google's most controversial projects, and it comes eight years after Google exited the search engine market in China. At the time of its departure, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who grew up in the Soviet Union, cited the "totalitarianism" of Chinese policies as a contributing factor.
Last month, hundreds of Google employees, mostly software engineers, joined with Amnesty International to publish a letter demanding that CEO Sundar Pichai cancel the project. Google has said little about Dragonfly, but the project would reportedly bring a censored search engine to China and make it possible to connect users' search queries to their phone numbers, enabling the Chinese government to more easily track searches.
Asked for comment on Monday about The Intercept report, a Google spokeswoman pointed to remarks Pichai made last week when asked about Dragonfly during a congressional hearing. He repeatedly said the company has "no plans" to launch a search engine in China. But when pressed, he acknowledged that the project had "over a hundred" people working on it at one point. Despite the headcount, Pichai called it a "limited effort" within the company.
The Beijing-based website, 265.com, is a Chinese-language web directory service that claims to be “China’s most used homepage.” Google purchased the site in 2008 from Cai Wensheng, a billionaire Chinese entrepreneur. 265.com provides its Chinese visitors with news updates, information about financial markets, horoscopes, and advertisements for cheap flights and hotels. It also has a function that allows people to search for websites, images, and videos.
However, search queries entered on 265.com are redirected to Baidu, the most popular search engine in China and Google’s main competitor in the country. As The Intercept reported in August, it appears that Google has used 265.com as a honeypot for market research, storing information about Chinese users’ searches before sending them along to Baidu.
“The 265 data was integral to Dragonfly,” said one source. “Access to the data has been suspended now, which has stopped progress.”
BREAKING NEWS
TECHNO TRENDS
Nazara and ONDC set to transform in-game monetization with ‘
Nazara Technologies has teamed up with the Open Network for Digital Comme...
Jio Platforms and NICSI to offer cloud services to government
In a collaborative initiative, the National Informatics Centre Services In...
BSNL awards ₹5,000 Cr Project to RVNL-Led Consortium
A syndicate led by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (abbreviated as RVNL), along wi...
Pinterest tracks users without consent, alleges complaint
A recent complaint alleges that Pinterest, the popular image-sharing platf...
E-Magazine
TECHNOTAINMENT
Netflix adds 'Moments' feature for saving, sharing scenes from
Netflix has introduced a new “Moments” feature on its mobile app, whic
Jacqueline Fernandez come together with YouTuber Mr. Beast for
Jacqueline Fernandez has partnered with American YouTuber Mr. Beast to b
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Visa elevates Rishi Chhabra as new Country Manager for India
Rishi holds a Master’s in Industrial Engineering from The Ohio State Univ
Genesys welcomes Albert Nel as Senior VP and Regional Sales Le
Genesys continues to deepen its investment in the APAC region. Earlier this
OPEN YOUR EYES
INTERVIEWS
In India, 88% of Indian business leaders are planning to inves
As we move through 2024, it has become increasingly clear that AI is not ju
Bolstering its commitment to help build a truly self-reliant B
CP PLUS is dedicated to spreading a sense of security to every corner of In
HOT PICK
SonicWall Launches TZ80: A Powerful Solution for Remote Office
SonicWall announced today the launch of the TZ80, a groundbreaking securit
Gigabyte X3D Turbo: A Gaming Revolution
GIGABYTE X3D Turbo Mode is a cutting-edge feature that unifies cores distr
MAKE IN INDIA BRANDS
MICROTEK INTERNATIONAL PVT. LTD.
SAMSUNG INDIA ELECTRONICS LTD.
HIMACHAL FUTURISTIC COMMUNICATIONS LTD.
NETWEB TECHNOLOGIES INDIA LTD.
EMINENT CIO'S OF INDIA
ICONS OF INDIA
Icons Of India : NEERAJ MITTAL
He started his career as an IAS Officer in 1992. He has held various a...
Icons Of India : Bhavish Aggarwal
Indian entrepreneur Bhavish Aggarwal is the CEO of Ola, India’s larg...
Icons Of India : ASHISH KUMAR CHAUHAN
Ashish kumar Chauhan, an Indian business executive and administrator, ...
PARTNER SPEAKERS
PSU
NSE - National Stock Exchange
NSE is the leading stock exchange in India....
STPI - Software Technology Parks of India
STPI promotes and facilitates the growth of the IT and ITES industry i...
GSTN - Goods and Services Tax Network
GSTN provides shared IT infrastructure and service to both central and...
VIDEOS
Top 25 Brands
Global Indian industry
Indian Tech Talent Excelling The Tech World - Aneel Bhusri, CEO, Workday
Aneel Bhusri, Co-Founder and Executive Chair at Workday, has been a le...
Indian Tech Talent Excelling The Tech World - JAYASHREE ULLAL, President and CEO - Arista Network
Jayshree V. Ullal is a British-American billionaire businesswoman, ser...
Indian Tech Talent Excelling The Tech World - Soni Jiandani, Co-Founder- Pensando Systems
Soni Jiandani, Co-Founder of Pensando Systems, is a tech visionary ren...
STARNITE AWARDS 2024
ITFORUM 2024
CMO of the Year
WOMEN LEADERSHIP
IMAGE GALLERY
TRENDS IN TECHNOLOGY
MORE VIDEOS
ADVERTISEMENTS
TECHNOLOGY DISRUPTION
UNICORNS REVOLUTIONISING
