Google to launch censored version of search engine in China: report

Google is planning to roll out a version of its search engine in China that complies with Beijing’s strict censorship laws, The Intercept reported Wednesday.

The search engine designed for China will blacklist websites as well as search terms about human rights, democracy, religion and peaceful protest, The Intercept reported, citing documents it had seen. 

Google has created a custom Android app for China and has demonstrated it to the Chinese government, the news site also said. The finalized version could be launched in the next six to nine months, pending approval from Chinese officials.

Google’s Chinese search app would remove banned websites from the first page of results. A person would then see a disclaimer stating that “some results may have been removed due to statutory requirements,” according to The Intercept. 

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The company has not operated its search engine in China in almost a decade and its search service cannot currently be accessed by most internet users in China because it is blocked by the country’s so-called Great Firewall.

China’s communist government maintains an iron grip on information in the country, censoring information on the internet on topics ranging from political opponents of Beijing to sex. 

The websites of many U.S companies, like Facebook and The New York Times, are also censored in the country.