It was reported a few weeks ago that Google has been trying to find its way back into China. One of the ways it was considering was said to be a censored version of its search engine for the People’s Republic. This hasn’t gone down well with many within the company as employees have protested internally against the plans of launching a censored search engine in China. The company’s CEO has reassured employees that it’s “not close” to launching a censored Google Search in the country.
CNN reports that Google CEO Sundar Pichai reassured employees at a town hall meeting earlier this week that the company isn’t rushing to launch a search product in China, censored or otherwise.
“We are not close to launching a search product in China,” Pichai was quoted as saying. “And whether we would do so, or could do so is all very unclear,” he added, pointing out that “the team has been in an exploration stage for quite a while now and I think they are exploring many options.”
The discussion about these reports was part of a regular meeting that’s open to all employees. Google hasn’t commented on the town hall meeting or the letter signed by almost 1,400 employees that questioned the plan and called for more transparency.
Google’s popular services like Search and YouTube remain banned in China. The company’s search engine was previously available in China but was taken offline in 2010 after a dispute between the country and the United States.