Karan Bhatia, a top executive for Google, repeatedly denied accusations Tuesday that Google has been infiltrated or comprised by the Chinese government while testifying in front of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution.
The hearing, which was focused on allegations of censorship and bias from the tech giant aimed at conservative viewpoints on its ubiquitous search engine and its YouTube video platform, also included questions about Google’s alleged ties to the Chinese regime.
Peter Thiel, a Silicon Valley billionaire and prominent Trump supporter who founded big data analytics firm Palantir, suggested in a speech over the weekend that Google’s decision not to work with the Pentagon on an artificial-intelligence-based drone project along with what he said were ties to the Chinese military made Google look “seemingly treasonous.” And Thiel spoke on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show on Monday, calling for the FBI and CIA to investigate. President Trump promised Tuesday morning that he would “take a look!”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut asked Bhatia to address the allegations made by Thiel and the possible investigation by Trump.
“Have you found any evidence of infiltration of your management or your private data by Chinese intelligence?” Blumenthal asked.
Bhatia said “absolutely not.”
Blumenthal then asked whether Google has “made any decision about its contracts with the U.S. government based on pressure or in consolation with China” and Bhatia again said no.
Blumenthal also asked if Google had ever “turned over or in any way turned a blind eye to a leak of its software or private data to Chinese intelligence” and again the answer was in the negative.
“We take very seriously the threat of any penetration of our systems,” Bhatia said.
Blumenthal then pressed Bhatia on whether Google would commit to immediately alerting the Senate and other appropriate agencies “if Google’s software, private data, or management is breached by a foreign intelligence agency.”
“Certainly, sir, and indeed we work closely with the law enforcement agencies of the U.S.,” Bhatia replied.
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri followed up with questions in a similar vein.
“You’re confident that Google hasn’t been infiltrated by Chinese intelligence?” Hawley inquired.
Bhatia said that Google saw “no evidence of that.”
Hawley then referenced testimony by Gen. Joseph Dunford of the Joint Chiefs of Staff where the general said that “typically, if a company does business in China, they’re automatically going to be required to have a cell of the Communist Party in that company and that is going to lead to the intellectual property from that company finding its way to the Chinese military.” Hawley asked if Google agreed with Dunford’s sentiments.
Bhatia said that Google barely does any business in China and that they exited the country in 2010.
“That wasn’t that long ago,” Hawley said.
“Ten years ago,” Bhatia replied.
In the same hearing, Bhatia revealed that Google had canceled its secretive effort, dubbed “Project Dragonfly,” to build a search engine in China that could comply with the Chinese government’s stringent censorship and surveillance requirements, but he repeatedly declined to guarantee that Google would not attempt another such effort again the future.
