Google’s China Search Engine Hits Major ‘Dragonfly’ Snag

Google’s China Search Engine

It’s hardly been a secret that over the course of 2018, Google has been working towards releasing a search engine that would comply with China’s exceptionally terse censorship in regards to the internet. As details of the search engine were revealed though, a rather disturbing aspect known as ‘Dragonfly’ was revealed. This part of the development potentially allowed a users activity to be tracked.

The uproar over this wasn’t just from the outside either. Many key Google figures resigned and there were even talks of mass strikes from staff members. It seems, however, that the project may have taken more than a few steps backwards. In a report via The Verge, it seems that Google has withdrawn the ‘Dragonfly’ software from the development. This has, however, caused more than a few problems in getting the search engine to work.

It Doesn’t Work Without It

As above, China has perhaps what is the strictest regulated internet in the world. Put simply, if the government doesn’t approve, it doesn’t (or shouldn’t) appear online. With ‘Dragonfly’ being such an integral part of the search engines design though, it is believed that it’s scrapped has essentially sent the design back to square one. Put simply, they can’t filter the lengths required without.

This Is Probably For The Best!

The opposition to this search engine was coming from pretty much everyone except Google CEO Sundar Pichai. As such, while it is certainly not necessarily scrapped, a long delay is probably for the best. Ultimately, Google will, of course, remain very interesting in releasing in China. For the moment, however, it doesn’t look to be happening any time soon!

What do you think? – Let us know in the comments!