Google CEO Gives In To Pressure, Will Face Lawmakers Over China, Bias Concerns

In short: Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai flew to Washington to face lawmakers over concerns stemming from the company’s ambitions in China, as well allegations of Google Search bias. The 46-year-old said he’s planning to meet with both Republican and Democratic politicians by the end of the week, confirming he came to the capitol to answer a broad range of questions. The development comes shortly following significant and (for some issues) bipartisan pressure from stateside legislators who have been requesting an audience with Google’s leadership for months.

Background: Several weeks back, Google found itself blasted by a number of top lawmakers after refusing to send one of its top executives to an election security hearing organized by the United States Senate Intelligence Committee. The Senators at the committee didn’t mince words when they voiced their displeasure about that development on several occasions during the happening, having even gone as far as to leave an empty chair for the company between Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.

Over the last several months, Google declined to renew its government contract for Project Maven, a controversial initiative pursued in collaboration with Pentagon that sought (and still seeks) to weaponize AI. While that move was prompted by employee activism, Google found itself criticized for the decision, especially as it continues to collaborate with Huawei and ZTE on various Android fronts, which some lawmakers claimed was a concerning pattern of behavior given how both of those Chinese firms were repeatedly labeled as national security threats by the intelligence community. Coupled with the fact that Alphabet’s subsidiary is presently working on a censored version of its Google Search engine for China, code-named Project Dragonfly, Capitol Hill is now demanding answers on how the company is rationalizing that strategy, especially given the ongoing trade war between Washington and Beijing.

Impact: Whatever Mr. Pichai says to lawmakers this week, it’s unlikely Congress will press the issues any further until the November mid-terms are over, at least in an official capacity. The upcoming elections are yet another reason why Google is presently facing massive scrutiny, with the company being pressured to do whatever it can to ensure foreign actors don’t abuse its online service to sow discord among the American public or try to influence the outcome of the political race in any other manner.

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