According to media reports, Google plans to launch a censored search engine in China that blocks sensitive information. In August 2018, 14 human rights organisations, including Access Now, Amnesty International, Committee to Protect Journalists, Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Human Rights Watch, issued an open letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai calling on Google to refrain from launching a censored search engine in China (known as "Project Dragonfly"). The letter says that the censored search engine represents “an alarming capitulation by Google on human rights” and could result in the company “directly contributing to, or [becoming] complicit in, human rights violations.”

Google employees have also expressed concerns about Project Dragonfly, with more than 1,400 signing a letter calling for an ethics review structure that includes rank and file employee representatives; the appointment of ombudspeople; a plan for transparency that allows employees an ethical choice about what they work on; and ethical assessments of Google projects, including Dragonfly. In addition, at least one Google employee has resigned in protest.

On 27 November 2018, Google employees released another letter calling on Google to cancel Project Dragonfly.

Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited Google to respond to allegations related to Project Dragonfly; it did not, however it sent a response to the civil society letter in October 2018 (see below). 

In July 2019, Buzzfeed reported that Google executive Karan Bhatia told the US Senate Judiciary Committee that the company has terminated Project Dragonfly. “A spokesman for Google later confirmed to the site that Google currently had no plans to launch search in China and that no work was being done to that end…"