Google CEO Sundar Pichai said Wednesday that scrutiny of big technology companies is “here to stay,” a day after he rejected assertions from lawmakers that Google’s search algorithm is biased against conservatives.
“I think a broader scrutiny of technology at a high level, I think, is actually important,” Pichai told Axios in an interview after he testified before Congress. “I personally have always felt so.”
Pichai says he wants people other than just engineers to be able to weigh in on issues related to tech regulation and user security.
“I think privacy is an area where you have constantly evolving user expectations,” Pitchai said. “I think, as a company, we have grown a lot … I think people may legitimately have questions saying, ‘I do want a different construct.’”
The CEO said Google is looking to change user settings so it would not default to collecting data that fuels its ad-targeting technology. Rather than an opt-out option, Google is exploring a way for users to have to opt-in to have their data collected in certain instances.
The balance, however, could be difficult because, although people want more privacy, they may also need to sacrifice accuracy. For example, location services allow Google to accurately translate languages when users’ locations show they are in a different country.
Pichai said people get very upset when Google gets little things like that wrong.
“We are trying to respond to user needs,” he said.
Pichai testified for three hours on Capitol Hill Tuesday in a hearing similar to the one Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg went through earlier this year.
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