Google is developing a censored search engine for China, codenamed ‘Dragonfly’. For Google to develop this controversial search engine they must comply with China’s tight censorship laws and intrusive programme of online surveillance, effectively facilitating the Chinese government’s repressive regime and compromising their commitment to human rights.
Tibetan, Uyghur and Chinese rights groups have joined with digital tech and ethical consumer specialists to oppose Google’s development of Dragonfly.
Recent reports that suggest Google has ended project Dragonfly show us that pressure is mounting on the company to abandon its controversial plans and its complicity with the Chinese Government’s extreme and repressive censorship and online monitoring.
However, we are not convinced that the company has actually dropped Dragonfly, nor officially stopped working with the Chinese government to develop this search engine.
We continue to stand with Google employees – Googlers Against Dragonfly – who said earlier today it would be “optimistic to be prematurely declaring it [Dragonfly] “ended” at this time.” Like Googlers Against Dragonfly we will continue to press Google’s management for concrete evidence that they have listened to their employees, consumers, and the communities on the front lines of China’s war on human rights, and that they will be respecting their own company’s principles and policies by dropping Dragonfly once and for all.
