HOUSE LAWMAKERS PRESS GOOGLE OVER CHINA

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is demanding answers from Google after multiple media reports detailed the internet giant’s plans to develop a censored search engine that would allow it to break into the Chinese market.

Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) led the group of 16 House members in a letter sent to Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Thursday.

“Google should not be helping China crack down on free speech and political dissent,” Cicilline wrote in a tweet.

Among the lawmakers that signed on to the letter were Reps. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.).

Google operated in China until 2010 when it pulled out over concerns about free expression in the Communist nation.

Last month, The Intercept reported that Google had launched a project to develop a censored search service in order to comply with Chinese speech restrictions after a meeting between Pichai and Communist Party officials.