So much for ‘Don’t be Evil’ as Google bows to China censorship – sources

Many of the internet giants managed to put principles before profits when dealing with China, but willpower does seem to be fading as Silicon Valley attempts to work around the Great Chinese Firewall.

Search giant Google is seemingly the next to sacrifice freedoms of modern society in pursuit of the fortunes promised in the Chinese market. According to the Intercept, Google is currently developing a news-aggregation app for use in China which will comply to the governments strict censorship rules. While this is only a news app for the moment, it is a foot through the door; once present, it might be easier to launch further services.

Bowing to the demands of the ‘inquisitive’ Chinese government is not uncommon, though many of the internet players have resisted to date. LinkedIn did cave, and while it did seem Facebook was getting closer after years of wooing, including a very smoggy run around Tiananmen Square from CEO Mark Zuckerberg, though the failure to retain a business registration suggests the team was not willing to submit completely.

Google has reportedly been working on the app since early 2017, with the project codenamed ‘Dragonfly’. The first versions of the app have already been shown to officials, while the final version could be launched in the next six to twelve months, pending final approval from the government. The app would allow the government to block what is deems unfavourable content on topics such as political opponents, free speech, sex, news, and academic studies.

Content banned in China of course includes anything which directly criticises the ruling party, though also past events. Any references to the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre as anything more than a Western myth are banned for instance, while any content which is focused on bringing down the establishment also hits the firewall. Both 1984 and Animal Farm by George Orwell have been banned. Sites which have been banned include social media such as Twitter and Facebook, but also the BBC, Wikipedia and the New York Times.

One question which might be worth asking is whether this is too little too late. Google left the country eight years ago, refusing to succumb to the censorship demands, though in the void, Baidu emerged. This has been the case for all the Silicon Valley companies who deserted China, a domestic alternative appeared. As reported in the quarterly earnings earlier this week, Baidu is doing well. Google might be the dominant search engine everywhere else, but people are creatures of habit; before it can make any money it will have to convince Chinese consumers to leave the familiar and engage with a distant memory.

The app itself will not only automatically block websites which feature on the Chinese sh*t list, but also complete searches. Certain words and phrases will be caught by the filter blocking any results from appearing on the page. The development of the app has been limited to a couple of hundred employees, though the majority are unlikely to receive the news well.

Google’s work with the US Defence Department to aid the accuracy of drone strikes with its AI technology was not well received, with a few thousand employees threatening to leave the business unless ‘Project Maven’ was ended. These employees at least maintain the principles of Silicon Valley, seemingly still living to the “Don’t be Evil” mantra of Google, even if it has been removed from the official code of conduct, and we suspect they will not receive news of the censored app favourably.

Google has a very positive image around the world. Despite making billions in profit each quarter, dealing with data in a questionable manner and constantly being investigated by the European Commission for antitrust violations, the brand has managed to maintain this friendly and upbeat persona. Whether censorship impacts this image remains to be seen.