Google is reportedly working on a version of its popular search platform that bends to Beijing’s will on censorship. According to The Intercept, which first reported the story, the China-specific programming would filter results for search terms about human rights, democracy, religion and peaceful protest, and block sites which the Chinese Communist Party finds objectionable.
Google, which previously ceased operations in China over political criticism at home, plans to again endorse censorship. That signals the increasing lure of China’s economy, even at the risk of criticism at home.
Although Google does not currently operate in China — all of its apps are banned there, including YouTube and Google Maps — it did maintain a censored version of its search engine between 2006 and 2010. By 2010, however, the company faced enough controversy for supporting Chinese censorship that it pulled its services and halted operations.
Eight years later, Google appears to be courting China again, even as there have been increased crackdowns on dissent under Chinese President Xi Jinping.
If its negotiations with the Chinese government are successful, Google will likely face renewed criticism in the U.S. Indeed, The Intercept received the tip-off about Google’s plans from a whistleblower who told the publication, “I’m against large companies and government collaborating in the oppression of their people.” This view is likely shared by both lawmakers and the public, based on China’s ongoing human rights abuses, silencing of dissidents, and crackdown on religious freedom.
As demonstrated by its development of a censored search, however, Google clearly thinks that enduring such criticism for access to China’s Internet users might be worthwhile under the right circumstances. For U.S. policymakers, who successfully applied pressure to Google in the past, this means that China’s growing economic leverage should be taken seriously and requires a firm stance against Beijing’s maneuvering.
The reveal of Google’s development of a censored search engine is only the latest indication that U.S. companies are willing to pick access to China’s economy at the risk of political criticism. Recently, U.S. airlines have given in to Beijing’s demands on labeling Taiwan as an independent country. Hotels and clothing companies have produced apologies for not adhering to Beijing’s geopolitical will.
Companies have also faced increasing scrutiny for providing technology to China that has been used in an increasingly brutal policing of China’s Uyghur minority in Xinjiang.
To counter this economic flexing, U.S. lawmakers and the White House must both support companies that take a stand against Beijing and increase pressure on China. Additionally, the American public should make it clear that they do not support U.S. firms that are complicit in censorship and human rights violations.
