The news about Google planning a censored search engine for China hasn't even cooled down yet, and the company already has another news: a censored news app is also being created by Google for the country. The tools will have some services blocked as per Chinese government rules.
The company's search service has not been available to Chinese since 2010, precisely due to the country's heavy censorship. And now, thanks to a report published by The Intercept, the world has learned of the search engine's return, but in a different, fully censored format, which could be launched in China in six to nine months. Apparently, the search product is codenamed Dragonfly.
The application will have the same functionality as Google News, but with restricted content. The problem is that there is already an app with the same practices, called Toutiao, and Google's goal is to offer the same experience: news and stories suggested to readers through an algorithm and artificial intelligence. All this molded within the confines of censorship.
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However, this job of taking care of what is censored will not be easy for Google, and according to TechCrunch, there is information that the application may be ready before the search engine. As Google is a foreign company, the whole issue is even more complicated, even more so because it is from the US, a country with which China faces a trade war. But company executives are destined to strive to further engage the search engine censor.
In a statement to TechCrunch, the company states:
"We provide a number of mobile apps in China such as Google Translate and Files Go, help Chinese developers, and make significant investments in Chinese companies like JD.com. But we do not comment on speculation about future plans."
