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| Seven things to watch as Google's CEO appears before Congress hearing | Seven things to watch as Google's CEO appears before Congress hearing |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| Google's chief Sundar Pichai will be quizzed by US lawmakers later. | Google's chief Sundar Pichai will be quizzed by US lawmakers later. |
| He previously failed to appear at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing for top tech executives in September. An empty chair marked his absence. | He previously failed to appear at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing for top tech executives in September. An empty chair marked his absence. |
| That hearing was attended by Facebook's chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter's chief executive Jack Dorsey, who made their own mea culpas. | That hearing was attended by Facebook's chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter's chief executive Jack Dorsey, who made their own mea culpas. |
| Now it's Mr Pichai's turn, and he shouldn't expect an easy ride. | Now it's Mr Pichai's turn, and he shouldn't expect an easy ride. |
| Scheduled to begin at 10:00 local time (15:00 GMT) in Washington DC. | |
| In prepared remarks released ahead of the hearing, Mr Pichai emphasised how proud he was of his company's work to "empower people around the world, especially in the US". | |
| Here are seven things that could come up. | Here are seven things that could come up. |
| 1. Project Dragonfly | 1. Project Dragonfly |
| Google has been toying with creating a controversial search engine for China codenamed Project Dragonfly, as first reported by the Intercept in August and later confirmed by the tech firm's own privacy chief. | Google has been toying with creating a controversial search engine for China codenamed Project Dragonfly, as first reported by the Intercept in August and later confirmed by the tech firm's own privacy chief. |
| Google has history in China, launching a search engine in the authoritative state in 2006, google.cn. | Google has history in China, launching a search engine in the authoritative state in 2006, google.cn. |
| It was compliant with the Chinese government's censorship requirements at the time but pulled the plug in 2010, citing increasing concerns about cyber-attacks on activists. | It was compliant with the Chinese government's censorship requirements at the time but pulled the plug in 2010, citing increasing concerns about cyber-attacks on activists. |
| The potential move back into the country comes at a tense time in relations between the US and China, to say the least. | The potential move back into the country comes at a tense time in relations between the US and China, to say the least. |
| While a trade war between the nations has recently been put on pause for three months, the arrest of Huawei's chief finance officer Meng Wanzhou in Canada is keeping things frosty. | While a trade war between the nations has recently been put on pause for three months, the arrest of Huawei's chief finance officer Meng Wanzhou in Canada is keeping things frosty. |
| The committee may question the timing of Google's push into China. | The committee may question the timing of Google's push into China. |
| In his prepared testimony Mr Pichai says "even as we expand into new markets we never forget our American roots". | |
| 2. Political bias | 2. Political bias |
| Claims, often unsubstantiated, about bias against conservative politicians have been raised several times on Twitter by President Trump, with the hashtag #Stopthebias. | Claims, often unsubstantiated, about bias against conservative politicians have been raised several times on Twitter by President Trump, with the hashtag #Stopthebias. |
| He's accused Google of failing to promote his State of the Union addresses and "controlling what we can and cannot see". | He's accused Google of failing to promote his State of the Union addresses and "controlling what we can and cannot see". |
| Mr Pichai addresses this issue in his opening statement saying: "I lead this company without political bias and work to ensure our products continue to operate that way." | |
| 3. Data collection | 3. Data collection |
| Eight of Google's services have more than one billion users each: YouTube, the Chrome browser, Gmail, Google Maps, Drive, the Android and Google Play stores and of course its search engine. | Eight of Google's services have more than one billion users each: YouTube, the Chrome browser, Gmail, Google Maps, Drive, the Android and Google Play stores and of course its search engine. |
| The way it handles this immense amount of personal data should come under scrutiny. | The way it handles this immense amount of personal data should come under scrutiny. |
| In August, Google was reported to be tracking its users locations even when location services were switched off. | In August, Google was reported to be tracking its users locations even when location services were switched off. |
| 4. Security breaches | 4. Security breaches |
| A security breach on social network Google+ earlier this year led to an announcement that the service was closing down. | A security breach on social network Google+ earlier this year led to an announcement that the service was closing down. |
| A blog post revealed that 500,000 people were revealed to have had personal details exposed to third-party app developers. | A blog post revealed that 500,000 people were revealed to have had personal details exposed to third-party app developers. |
| On Monday, Google announced a further 52.5 million people had been exposed in November via a separate bug and that it was shutting down the service four months earlier than planned, by April 2019. | On Monday, Google announced a further 52.5 million people had been exposed in November via a separate bug and that it was shutting down the service four months earlier than planned, by April 2019. |
| In light of other recent data breaches on Amazon, Facebook, Yahoo and Marriott, the hearing may want reassurances from Mr Pichai that he is taking data protection seriously. | |
| 5. Extraordinary influence | 5. Extraordinary influence |
| Google controls 92% of global search traffic according to analytics tool StatCounter. | Google controls 92% of global search traffic according to analytics tool StatCounter. |
| Its closest competitors are Bing and Yahoo with just over 2% each. | Its closest competitors are Bing and Yahoo with just over 2% each. |
| But some are troubled by how mysterious the way the search engine's algorithms work are to outsiders. | But some are troubled by how mysterious the way the search engine's algorithms work are to outsiders. |
| 6. Sexual harassment | 6. Sexual harassment |
| Google had its own #metoo moment this year, when Mr Pinchai revealed in a letter to staff that 48 people had been sacked for sexual harassment since 2016, including 13 who were at senior level and above. | Google had its own #metoo moment this year, when Mr Pinchai revealed in a letter to staff that 48 people had been sacked for sexual harassment since 2016, including 13 who were at senior level and above. |
| On 1 November, tens of thousands of Google staff walked out around the world to protest against the company's practices. | On 1 November, tens of thousands of Google staff walked out around the world to protest against the company's practices. |
| In return, Mr Pichai said he would increase transparency around instances of sexual harassment, expand mandatory training, and offer increased support for those with claims. | In return, Mr Pichai said he would increase transparency around instances of sexual harassment, expand mandatory training, and offer increased support for those with claims. |
| But the Tech Workers Coalition said the measures did not go nearly far enough, particularly in cases relating to contractors who worked with the firm. | But the Tech Workers Coalition said the measures did not go nearly far enough, particularly in cases relating to contractors who worked with the firm. |
| 7. Fair wages | 7. Fair wages |
| Along with sexual harassment, Google has been accused of operating a so-called "shadow workforce", which makes up an estimated 50% of its staff. | Along with sexual harassment, Google has been accused of operating a so-called "shadow workforce", which makes up an estimated 50% of its staff. |
| These contractors do not receive the same benefits as Google's full-time employees, missing out on sick days and other "perks". | These contractors do not receive the same benefits as Google's full-time employees, missing out on sick days and other "perks". |