Google’s Search for Communist Money
It now openly admits to building a heavily censored search engine for adoption in China.
What happens when one of the world’s biggest and most influential corporations, Google, whose former motto was “Don’t Be Evil,” is ameliorating the censorship desires of a communist, evil state? During the days of the Cold War, such a question was likely to be rhetorical. Most Americans knew better and were repulsed by the communists. And those few who dared to capitulate to a communist nation and foe like Russia were at the very least inviting severe reprimands upon themselves. Not any longer. Google now openly admits that it is building a heavily censored search engine for adoption in China.
The search engine goes by the name “Project Dragonfly.” According to The Washington Free Beacon, “The tech giant’s executives are happy with the search engine’s performance and they believe it is in accordance with the company’s values.” If by “values” the executives mean “wherever the money flows,” then yes, they’re in accordance with said values. In fact, the project isn’t contrary to Google’s mission; it’s entirely consistent with it. Dragonfly was already known to exist despite the coyness of Google’s leadership, so CEO Sundar Pichai’s acknowledgement merely makes it official. But it’s disconcerting nonetheless.
Pichai contends, “We are compelled by our mission [to] provide information to everyone, and [China is] 20 percent of the world’s population.” Yet that’s hardly what matters here. As the Beacon points out, “The rule of law in China is in the midst of a historic period of repression, with religious freedom sharply curtailed and the flow of information strictly controlled under President Xi Jinping. Meanwhile, China has continued its work in cyber and information warfare.” The fact that Google, headquartered in a nation that champions the free flow of ideas, is pacifying a communist, tyrannical nation that subjugates its people and despises America apparently doesn’t bother Google executives. Which should bother every American that does business with Google. (That would be most of us, by the way.)
On that note, Americans are also victims of Google’s information manipulation. As USA Today reports, “Google News and Google News search engine results appear to show a ‘strong preference’ for media organizations that are on the left of the political spectrum, a new report finds. The report from the media technology group AllSides, out Tuesday, analyzed Google News’ homepage and search engine results from the news page over a two-week period and determined that news outlets with a ‘left’ bias were more often prominently displayed.” This explains the reluctance of Democrats to condemn what Google — a leftist bastion — is doing not just here but also internationally.
Earlier this year, FBI Director Christopher Wray said, “I think China, from a counterintelligence perspective, in many ways represents the broadest, most challenging, most significant threat we face as a country.” Sadly, Google, by helping to establish a censored Chinese search engine, is undermining our attempts to subvert this dangerous foe. That’s awfully sad when the bottom line is all about the dollars.