Google researcher resigns in protest over possible censored search engine in China

A security guard keeps watch as he walks past a logo of Google in Shanghai, China.Aly Song/Reuters

Jack Poulson, a senior Google research scientist, has put his money where his mouth is.

He has resigned his position in protest to Google’s possible re-entry into China,  The Intercept reported Thursday.

Google management last month acknowledged that it has considered returning to the communist country.  

A return would mean conceding to demands made by the Chinese government that Google censor information. The company has already built a search engine that would do just that, according to reports. From the Intercept’s story:

“In early August, Poulson raised concerns with his managers at Google after The Intercept revealed that the internet giant was secretly developing a Chinese search app for Android devices. The search system, code-named Dragonfly, was designed to remove content that China’s authoritarian government views as sensitive, such as information about political dissidents, free speech, democracy, human rights, and peaceful protest.”

The past year has seen thousands of Google employees reject some of management’s business decisions. Earlier this year, more than 4,000 employees signed a petition that demanded Google’s managers top working with the US military.

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