Google employees have reiterated concerns about a censored, surveillance-aiding search app the company is reportedly building for China. The app, called Dragonfly, would allow users to access censored websites and apps in China, according to Bloomberg. Now, dissatisfied by a lack of dialogue, they have published an open letter online detailing Dragonfly ’s faults and stated their refusal to participate in its development. Its existence caused one former senior research scientist, Jack Poulson, to resign in protest. They cite the app’s likelihood of exacerbating the Chinese government’s suppression of people and ability to spread dissidence-stifling disinformation, as well as worries that it could see use in other authoritarian countries.
Google employees have reiterated concerns about a censored, surveillance-aiding search app the company is reportedly building for China. The app, called Dragonfly, would allow users to access censored websites and apps in China, according to Bloomberg. Now, dissatisfied by a lack of dialogue, they have published an open letter online detailing Dragonfly ’s faults and stated their refusal to participate in its development. They cite the app’s likelihood of exacerbating the Chinese government’s suppression of people and ability to spread dissidence-stifling disinformation, as well as worries that it could see use in other authoritarian countries.