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Google CEO testimony to Congress - LIVE: Sundar Pichai asked why Trump appears when you search 'idiot' amid grilling about data collection

Sundar Pichai says Google has 'no plans' to launch censored search engine in China

Clark Mindock
New York
Tuesday 11 December 2018 19:03 GMT
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Google CEO Sundar Pichai testifies to Congress over privacy and data collection

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Weeks before Democrats take over control of the House of Representatives, Republicans on the Judiciary Committee are questioning Google CEO Sundar Pichai on issues including transparency, data collection, and filtering.

This is the latest of several hearings Republicans have set up with tech company executives, which they claim have shown liberal bias in their dealings.

Google refused to send a representative the last time the Judiciary interviewed the top brass of social media companies, including Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. But, since then, the Mr Pichai has held closed door meetings with members of Congress to discuss what Republicans have branded as liberal bias at Google.

Follow updates from the hearing below and watch a live stream of the testimony here.

Please allow a moment for the live blog to update

Mr Pichai has said that Google engages with law enforcement when there are concerns about consumer safety.

He named Russian election interference, child safety, and the opioid crisis as areas that Google coordinates to ensure consumer safety and satisfaction.

Clark Mindock11 December 2018 18:10

Here is a helpful transcript of Mr Pichai's responses during an exchange about potentially expanding to China.

Clark Mindock11 December 2018 18:24

Chairman Goodlatte is back asking questions, and has asked who makes judgement calls on content modification or elimination.

Mr Pichai has said that there are several different teams that are responsible, depending on the platform being used.

Clark Mindock11 December 2018 18:35

Chairman Goodlatte is also asking if Google has agreements with third-party applications for pre-loaded apps on Android.

Mr Pichai said that there is not a specific agreement regarding the user data.

He also said that Google generally does not receive data from third-party apps that are operation on Android phones.

Clark Mindock11 December 2018 18:36

The hearing has now concluded.

Clark Mindock11 December 2018 18:38

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