<p>The Alphabet-owned technology company Google is allegedly working on a censored version of its popular search engine that would be only available in China, according to <em>The Intercept. ;</em></p>
<p>The search engine has been barred from use in mainland China for the last few years since Google previously refused to conform to the Chinese government and its internet restrictions. ;</p>
<p>China is known as one of the most censored countries in the world and the &#8220;Great Firewall of China&#8221; also blocks websites like Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook, along with information about free speech, sex, political opponents, news, and more.</p>
<p>But apparently, Google is working on the secret censored search engine project known as Dragonfly for the country and has been since 2017.</p>
<p>&#8220;Documents seen by The Intercept, marked &ldquo;Google confidential,&rdquo; say that Google&rsquo;s Chinese search app will automatically identify and filter websites blocked by the Great Firewall. When a person carries out a search, banned websites will be removed from the first page of results, and a disclaimer will be displayed stating that &ldquo;some results may have been removed due to statutory requirements,&#8221; writes <em>The Intercept. ;</em></p>
<p>According to the source, Google&#8217;s CEO Sundar Pichai met with the Chinese government last December and has presented a Google search engine app for Android users to the government. The company has also worked on different versions called &ldquo;Maotai&rdquo; and &ldquo;Longfei.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&#8220;If the effort were to proceed, it would mark a sharp about-face for Google that is certain to fuel controversy among human-rights advocates and many of its own employees, as well as U.S. politicians. When Google abandoned its Chinese search operations in 2010 to protest the state&rsquo;s censorship, co-founder Sergey Brin described the government as having the &ldquo;earmarks of totalitarianism&rdquo; of the Soviet Union, where he was born,&#8221; writes <em>The Wall Street Journal. ;</em></p>
<p>So why is Google changing its tune? ;</p>
<p>China has over 770 million internet users that Google is missing out on targeting. ;</p>
<p>Privacy advocates and human rights group were quick to condemn Google&#8217;s reported move to offer a censored search engine.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It is impossible to see how such a move is compatible with Google&rsquo;s &lsquo;Do the right thing&rsquo; motto, and we are calling on the company to change course,&rdquo; said Patrick Poon, Amnesty International&rsquo;s China Researcher. &ldquo;For the world&rsquo;s biggest search engine to adopt such extreme measures would be a gross attack on freedom of information and internet freedom. In putting profits before human rights, Google would be setting a chilling precedent and handing the Chinese government a victory.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The Intercept&#8217;s source agreed to speak to the publication on the condition of anonymity because they also had moral and ethical concerns about Google&#8217;s actions. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m against large companies and governments collaborating in the oppression of their people, and feel like transparency around what&rsquo;s being done is in the public interest,&rdquo; said the source. &ldquo;What is done in China will become a template for many other nations.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Google has not addressed this accusation. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;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&rsquo;t comment on speculation about future plans,&#8221; said a spokesperson to <em>The Verge. ;</em></p>
<p><strong>Author&#8217;s note:</strong> Let&#8217;s hope Google isn&#8217;t considering giving into China&#8217;s ridiculous demands. China just becomes more repressive and controlling of its citizens. ;</p>
<p><strong>Editor&#8217;s note:</strong> If liberal idealist Google ever wanted to stand up for anything, this would be it.</p>