Google plays censor: Tech giant is helping China suppress information

An internal crisis is unfolding at Google as the tech giant, which once operated with the motto “don’t be evil,” plans to assist China in the state-sponsored suppression of information.

According to leaked documents reported by the Intercept, Google has created a censored version of its search engine in China that would, among other things, block certain websites and search terms about topics such as human rights, democracy and freedom of expression.

Google famously pulled its services from China in 2010 after it refused to comply with demands for censorship from the Chinese government.

That inspiring stand for free inquiry has now been erased as Google prepares the censored version of its search engine for release in China early in 2019.

Google’s leadership was clearly aware of the dubious ethics of this project — code-named Dragonfly — as the company had briefed only several hundred of its more than 88,000 employees on the censored search engine. But since the project has come to light, Google staffers have expressed their frustration.