Transcription of the Video: A Conversation with Sundar Pichai

Our only witness today is Mr. Sundar Pichai, the chief executive officer of Google. Chairman Goodlatte begins by thanking Mr. Pichai for the opportunity to be here today. "Thank you for the opportunity to be here today," says Chairman Goodlatte. "We have a number of questions we'd like to ask you regarding your company's search results and its impact on free speech."

"Yes, thank you," responds Sundar Pichai. "I'm happy to answer any questions you may have." The hearing begins with questions about Google's search results and how they are generated. Chairman Goodlatte asks Mr. Pichai if Google designs a prototype for a search engine that would be used in China to censor content. Mr. Pichai responds, "We have undertaken an internal effort to explore what a search could look like if it were to be launched in a country like China." He continues, "We've explored and developed what a search could look like, but we haven't launched any of these projects yet."

The hearing then turns to the topic of free speech on the internet. Chairman Goodlatte asks Mr. Pichai if Google's search results are influenced by negative articles or press coverage. Mr. Pichai responds, "We always operate with the same set of principles. If it is newsworthy, we reflect that in our results." He adds, "If you want positive search results, do positive things. And to some of my colleagues here across the aisle, if you're getting bad press articles and bad search results, don't blame Google or Facebook or Twitter. Consider blaming yourself."

The conversation then shifts to the topic of censorship on the internet. Chairman Goodlatte asks Mr. Pichai if there are any current discussions with members of the Chinese government about launching a search product in China. Mr. Pichai responds, "Currently, we are not in discussions around launching a search product in China." He adds, "We have undertaken an internal effort to explore what a search could look like if it were to be launched in a country like China."

The hearing also touches on the topic of content moderation at Google. Chairman Goodlatte asks Mr. Pichai who makes the judgment calls regarding content moderation at Google. Mr. Pichai responds, "It depends on the area. For example, if it's YouTube, we have very clear teams which are responsible for YouTube content policies and identify whether something is possible for the customer to write to them and say 'this content should be removed'." He adds, "We have a lot of people involved in making these judgments, but ultimately, they are made by our teams."

Finally, Chairman Goodlatte asks Mr. Pichai if he can rule out launching a tool for surveillance and censorship in China while he is CEO of Google. Sundar Pichai responds, "I commit to engaging widely on this issue. We have a stated mission of providing users with information, and so we always think it's in our duty to explore possibilities to give users access to information." He adds, "We will engage widely as we make progress on this effort."

In conclusion, Chairman Goodlatte expresses his disappointment that a significant portion of the hearing was a waste of time. "This is now the fourth hearing in a series of ridiculous hearings on free speech of internet companies," he says. The first article that pops up in search results, according to Mr. Pichai, is not Google's response to Steve King's racist immigration talk, but rather a negative article from ABC news.

The conversation ends with Chairman Goodlatte's statement about the importance of private individuals' and corporations' free speech rights. "The First Amendment protects these rights," he says. The hearing comes to a close as Mr. Pichai leaves the stage.

A Final Thought

As the hearing comes to a close, it is clear that Sundar Pichai has taken a strong stance on the importance of free speech and providing users with information. While there are many questions still unanswered, it is evident that Google is committed to exploring possibilities for giving users access to information while also being mindful of the need to protect users from harm.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enOur only witness today is Mr. Sundar PichaiPichai is the chief executive officer of Google.Chairman Goodlatte ranking women adlerdistinguished members of the committeeThank you for the opportunity to be here todayMore than 90% of all internet searches take place on Google or its subsidiaryYouTube and they are curating what we seeGoogle, has long faced criticism for manipulating search results to censor conservatives.Conservative individuals and organizations have had their pro TrumpContent tagged as hate speech or had their content reduced in search resultsSo what are you going to improve that situation?Congressman thanks for the question. If I maySome of the studies you mentioned we have investigated those there are there are other studies which have looked at it we have foundissues with the methodology and the sample size and so on. But let me step back and sayProviding users with high quality accurate and trusted information is sacrosanct to usIt's what our principles are. And our business interests and natural long-term incentives are aligned with thatWe want to serve users everywhere and we need to earn their trust in doing soIleana Murillo is Google's head of multicultural marketing.Does miss Murillo do good work?I'm not directly familiar with her work, but she's an employee of Google and you knowWe're proud of our employees. Your head of multicultural marketingSaid you were pushing to get out the Latino vote paying for ride to the poll to the polls for the Latino voteOnly in key states and you're saying that's not accurateYes, that's rightThey be haven't found any evidence to substantiate you she just made it up out of thin air the day after the election I wroteThis email to your top executives and it's not trueCongressman. I'm happy to follow up, but I think the employees today do their own activities. We don't want to follow upI want the real answers right here in this committeeAs I said earlier, we've looked into itWe didn't find you push to get out the key vote and and I would say the two mostpopulous states for Latinos would be California and TexasDid you push to get out the Latino vote and pay for people to go to the poll in California in Texas?We as a company didn't have any effort to push out votes for any particular demographic that would be against our principlesWe participate in the civic process in anonpartisan way and we think it's really importantWe do it that way. II have an iPhone andIf I move from here and go over there and sit with my Democrat friends, which will make them real nervousDoes Google track my movement?Does Google, through this phone, know that I have moved here and moved over to the left?It's either yes or nonot by defaultThere may be a Google service which you've opted in to use. So Google knows that I am moving over thereIt's it's not a trick question. You know, you make a hundred million dollars a yearYou ought to be able to answer that question. Does Google know?Through this phone that I am moving over there and sitting next to Mr. Johnson, which would make him real nervousIt's his question. It's yes or nope. I wouldn't be able to answer thatI'm looking at yes say yes or no without knowing more details sir. I have a concernConcerning ChinaIn 2010 Google left the Chinese market place due to concerns overHacking attacks censorship and how the Chinese government was possibly gaining access to dataI'm interested in what has changed since 2010 and how working with the Chinese government to censorresults are part of Google's core values. Do you understand my question?CongressmanWe right now there are no plans for us to launch a search product in Chinawe are in general always looking to see how best it's part of our core mission and our principles toTry hard to provide users with informationweAlways have evidence based on every country we have operated inUs reaching out and giving uses to more information has a very positive impact and and we feel thatCalling. But right now there are no plans to launch in ChinaThe extent that we everYou know approach a decision like thatI will be fully transparent; including with policymakers here and engage in consult widelyso anticipating what took place in 2016 happening again, and and this is specifically regardingWhat Russia did to foment racial tensions in the United States andWanting to know how you are responding to that. Were they called for, you know fake protests?Either to get African Americans to turn out to protest something that was fake or to have white supremistsBe ginned up to attack communities of color so specifically what is Google doing to respond to that?We mainly saw with respect to RussiaLimited improper activity on our ad platforms but in general, you knowWe are not a social networking company across the products. We do it's an areawe haven't done well as a company so we typically are in connecting groups of people and that's not how Google mainly works today andSo we haven't seen that kind of activities on our platforms, but we are vigilant and you knowI'm happy to share any findings which come through as we look into it more the operating environment in ChinahasDeteriorated with respect to surveillance censorship and the like since Google first made the decision in 2010 to leaveSo I want to ask very specifically are any employees currentlyhaving product meetings on this Chinese project andif not when did those end?We have undertaken an internal effort. But right now there are no plans to launch a search service in Chinaas I said earlierAre there anycurrent discussions with any member of the Chinese government on launching this appCurrently we are not in discussions around launching a search product in ChinaAre there any current discussions with members of the Chinese government about this?You know, this effort currently is an internal effort and you know, I'm happy toconsult as well as be transparent to the actionWe take, as steps towards launching a product in China.And who at Google is leading the dragonfly effortIt's, you know our efforts aroundBuilding search, you know, it's undertaken by our search teams, but these are distributed effortsIt's a limited effort internally currentlyWill you Mr. Pichai, rule out launching a tool for surveillance and censorship in China while you are CEO of Google?congressman I commit toengaging one of the things which is important to us as a company. We have a stated mission of providing users with informationand so we always think it's in our duty to explore possibilities to give users access to information andYou know, I have that commitment. But you know, as I said earlier on this will be very thoughtful andWe will engage widely as we make progressthis is now the fourth hearing in a series of ridiculous hearings on a free speech of Internet companies asignificant portion this hearing was a waste of time because the First Amendmentprotectsprivate individuals' and corporations' free speech rights, so I'm gonna search forConsequence Steve King i'ma hit the news tabThe first article that pops up is from ABC newsIt says Steve King's racist immigration talk prompts calls for congressional censureThat's a negative article, but you don't have a group of people from Google sitting herethinking and trying to modify search results every time Steve King comes up, because a negative article appears. That's not what's happening, right?We always operate for any query with the same set of principlesWe are trying to reflect what is currently you knowIf it is newsworthy what is currently being discussed about that phraseThank youSo, let me just conclude here by stating the obviousIf you want positive search results do positive things if you don't want negative search resultsDon't do negative things. And to some of my colleagues here across the aisle, If you're getting bad press articles and bad search resultsDon't blame Google or Facebook or Twitterconsider blaming yourselfDid Google design a prototype for a search engine that would be used in China to censor contentCongressman we have undertaken an internal effortDid you create a prototype that there was a report in the intercept that says a prototype for the censored searchEngine was designedWe have developedand explored what a search could look like if it were to be launched in a country like China and that's what weExplored and how many months was that projectongoing?We've had the project underway for a while and there have been other projects which we've undertaken for a while and we've never launched them- so we could be a constantly exploring... How many how many people were working on it?The estimates, you knowthe number of engineers and the project have varied over time at ten at one pointWe've had over a hundred people working on it. It's my understanding. Who makes the judgment callsregarding content moderation at GoogleChairman it depends on the area. So for example if it's YouTube we haveYou know very clear teams which are responsible forYouTube content policies and... They identified whether is it possible for thecustomer to write to them and say \"hey here'sa concern I have\" ? We give clear channels for content creators toYou know to raise concerns back and we have clear avenues and and we also have had people who are responsible for these platformsIncluding content moderation appear hereYou know and I think they've consulted widely here too - thank you. Well you've gone for aboutthree and a half hours and it's about what we predicted isn't it yesterday when we talked soweThank you very much for your participation today. This concludes today's hearing and without objectionAll members will have five legislative days to submit writtenQuestion for the witness or additional materials for the record and with that this hearing is adjourned\n"