UK foreign minister attacks Google over 'child abuse content'

LONDON (Reuters) - British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said it is “extraordinary” that Google plans to launch a version of its search engine in China that will block some websites, but won’t co-operate with western efforts to remove child abuse content.

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Alphabet Inc's Google outside its office in Beijing, China August 8, 2018. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo

“Seems extraordinary that Google is considering censoring its content to get into China but won’t cooperate with UK, US ... in removing child abuse content,” Hunt said on Twitter. “They used to be so proud of being values-driven.”

Alphabet’s Google plans a search engine in China that will block some search terms and websites, two sources told Reuters earlier this month, in a move that could mark its return to a market it abandoned eight years ago on censorship concerns.

Reporting By Andrew MacAskill; editing by Stephen Addison

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