A top Google executive revealed today that the global tech firm had shut down its effort to build a search engine that would comply with the repressive censorship requirements of the Communist Chinese regime.

But Karan Bhatia would not commit to Google never attempting another such censorship project in China in the future in a tense exchange with Sen. Josh Hawley.

The vice president and global head of government affairs and public policy at Google was grilled Tuesday in front of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution by the Missouri Republican during a hearing focused on Google and allegations of suppressing conservative viewpoints.

Hawley questioned whether Google could be trusted not to advance an ideological agenda, as it promised not to in the United States, when it had gone along with Chinese censorship efforts in the past and was, according to reports, attempting to build a search engine that would be able to comply with China’s repressive state security requirements in the future.

Google’s past effort in China was a search engine called Google China, or “google.cn," which was largely suspended nearly a decade ago. But the Intercept revealed internal Google documents in 2018 and 2019 that indicated that Google was attempting to build a new censorship-compliant search engine, dubbed “Project Dragonfly,” that could operate in China and would allow the Chinese government to regulate content and to track and monitor its citizens.

Bhatia said the company had exited China in 2010 because it was facing hacking efforts by the Chinese and also “felt that the censorship requirements that were being applied to Google were not compatible with the products that we were able to offer.”

When Hawley pressed him on “google.cn" and the censorship tools the company was developing, Bhatia asked if he was referring to Project Dragonfly.

Hawley said that he wasn’t, but asked Bhatia for details on the project and if it was active. Bhatia said that it was not.

“Yes, we have terminated that, senator,” Bhatia testified, after Hawley asked him to repeat for the record that Google had abandoned the effort.

Hawley then pressed him on whether Google would work with the Chinese regime in the future.

“Let me be clear that we have no current plans to go into the Chinese search market,” Bhatia said. “What I’m willing to commit to, senator, is that any decision to ever look at going back into China search market is one that we would take only in consultation with key stakeholders.”

Hawley took Bhatia’s reticence on working with China in the future as a reason not to trust Google’s claims that it wouldn’t engage in ideological suppression in the United States.

“My point is this — you’ve been more than happy to engage in ideological censorship in the largest market in the world. You have been more than happy to partner with the most repressive authoritarian regime on the planet, all for profits, whatever it is that’s good for Google,” Hawley said. “Why would anybody believe you now? You won’t commit to me that you won’t engage in censorship when it suits your purposes in China and the Chinese market in the future. Why would anybody believe you now when you say you don’t ever impose an ideological agenda?”

Bhatia replied that he “fundamentally disagree[d] that these are practices for our bottom line” and said that “Google has a demonstrated track record of building search engines that meet the needs of consumers here and around the world.”

“We are a trusted brand,” Bhatia said. “I don’t know what answer you’re looking for.”

Hawley said, "What I’m looking for is a little honesty and accountability."