Sundar Pichai to testify before US House in November: Report
Washington, Sep 29 : Google CEO Sundar Pichai met Republican lawmakers here on Friday and agreed to testify before the House Judiciary Committee in November to allay concerns over privacy issues and the tech giant's entry into the Chinese market.
According to a report in USA Today, Pichai confirmed to testify in November during a private meeting with GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
"Pichai has agreed to testify before the House Judiciary Committee in November to address concerns over the Internet giant's business practices," said the report.
"As big tech's business grows, we have not had enough transparency and that has led to an erosion of trust and perhaps worse -- harm to consumers," House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy was quoted as saying.
Pichai also met US President Donald Trump's economic adviser Larry Kudlow and reportedly told the White House that he would attend an upcoming Trump roundtable with tech executives.
"We remain committed to continuing an active dialogue with members from both sides of the aisle, working proactively with Congress on a variety of issues, explaining how our products help millions of American consumers and businesses, and answering questions as they arise," Pichai said in a statement.
"Google has a lot of questions to answer about bias in its search results, violations of user privacy, anticompetitive behaviour and business dealings with repressive regimes like China," McCarthy earlier tweeted.
The news about Google's plan to build a censored search engine in China broke in August when The Intercept reported that the search platform would blacklist "sensitive queries" about topics including politics, free speech, democracy, human rights and peaceful protest, triggering internal protests among some Google employees.
Two weeks after that report, Pichai told the company's employees that the China plan was in its "early stages" and "exploratory".
Earlier in September, Google was given "the empty chair treatment" at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing as neither Pichai nor Larry Page, Chairman of Google's parent company Alphabet, showed up at the event on election interference, attended by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook COO Shreyl Sandberg.
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Rahul celebrates Holi with Cong workers at party office
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi celebrated Holi with party workers at the AICC's 24, Akbar Road office here on Wednesday, as he was smeared with colours by supporters and leaders.
Gandhi wished everyone a Holi filled with love and one that eliminates hatred.
Surrounded by workers, leaders and journalists at the party office, Gandhi applied colours on everyone and was smeared by 'gulal' in return.
Sharing pictures from the celebration on X, Gandhi said in a post in Hindi, "Heartiest greetings to all of you on the festival of colours and love, Holi. May the colours of Holi fill your lives with new hopes, new enthusiasm and countless happiness."
Earlier, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge greeted people on Holi.
"Holi is a festival that expresses the soul of our colorful, multicultural society. It celebrates the tradition of unity in diversity, mutual harmony, and brotherhood that has been the hallmark of our civilization for centuries," Kharge said in a post in Hindi on X.
"On this joyous occasion that bridges distances, I wish you all a very Happy Holi. May your life always be filled with the colors of happiness," Kharge said.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also greeted people on Holi.
"Heartiest greetings for Holi, the grand festival of togetherness, filled with the diverse colors of joy, enthusiasm, happiness, sweetness, and brotherhood," she said in a post in Hindi on X.
"Holi is a grand festival of lovingly embracing your family, friends and everyone else. Embrace everyone and share happiness with everyone. Happy Holi to all the people of the country!" she said.
रंगों और मोहब्बत के पर्व होली की आप सभी को हार्दिक शुभकामनाएं।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 4, 2026
होली के रंग आप सभी के जीवन को नई आशाओं, नए उमंग और अनगिनत खुशियों से भर दे। pic.twitter.com/sp10UNSl7v
