Photo: VCG
Google has abandoned plans to launch a filtered version of its search engine in China, according to a company executive.
The tech behemoth’s vice president of public policy, Karan Bhatia, said at a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday that the controversial project, nicknamed Dragonfly, had been “terminated.”
Bhatia’s words marked the first time Google had publicly confirmed Dragonfly’s cancellation, according to Buzzfeed News, which reported the comments. A Google spokesperson later confirmed to the website that the company was in no way pursuing a China-specific version of its search engine.
Initial reports about Dragonfly last summer prompted both a global backlash and a mutinous reaction among certain Google employees, some of whom circulated a petition demanding that the company clarify its aims in returning to the tightly controlled Chinese search market. In December, Google announced that the project had been shelved.
Contact reporter Matthew Walsh (matthewwalsh@caixin.com)
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