Trump warns Google again over China relationship
Google, fresh off celebrating a 19 percent jump in quarterly sales, was warned again by President Trump on Friday over its relationship with China.
"There may or may not be National Security concerns with regard to Google and their relationship with China. If there is a problem, we will find out about it. I sincerely hope there is not!!!" Trump tweeted.
There may or may not be National Security concerns with regard to Google and their relationship with China. If there is a problem, we will find out about it. I sincerely hope there is not!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2019
The latest warning from Trump follows a prior lashing earlier this month after billionaire investor Peter Thiel accused the tech giant of having “treasonous” ties to China. Thiel detailed his views during an interview with Fox's Tucker Carlson after a first disclosure during a conference. Thiel, who co-founded PayPal and sits on Facebook's Board of Directors, criticized the search giant for working with China and the country's military, while not working with the U.S. Defense Department.
In response to Thiel's remarks, Google telling FOX Business in a statement; "As we have said before, we do not work with the Chinese military."
After the allegations, President Trump responded via a tweet saying that he will recommend that various federal agencies, and possibly the Justice Department, “take a look” into Google.
“Billionaire Tech Investor Peter Thiel believes Google should be investigated for treason. He accuses Google of working with the Chinese Government.” @foxandfriends A great and brilliant guy who knows this subject better than anyone! The Trump Administration will take a look!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 16, 2019
Thiel also pressured Google CEO Sundar Pichai to answer three questions related to China.
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“I would say answer my three questions. How many foreign intelligence agencies have infiltrated Google? Have the Chinese, in particular, infiltrated? And why are you working with Communist China and not the U.S.? What is the reason you’re doing that?” Thiel told Carlson.
Shares of Alphabet, Google's parent, jumped on Friday after better-than-expected quarterly results that showed sales rose over 19 percent to $38.9 billion exceeding analyst estimates.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GOOGL | ALPHABET INC. | 171.49 | +2.54 | +1.50% |
For the year, shares of Google have gained 8 percent, trailing the 25 percent rise in the Nasdaq Composite.