Google: Science, Innovation and Technology Committee Chair comments on evidence session

Speaking after the panel, the Chair of the Committee, Chi Onwurah MP, said: 

"I was pleased that Google appeared before us today to speak about misinformation, and particularly that, after we repeatedly pressed their witness on the subject, they confirmed that Google does have a responsibility to be accountable before parliament. The company's decisions directly affect the lives of our constituents, and it should be answerable before their elected representatives. 

"The committee was disappointed that Google declined to appear in public for our recent session on copyright and AI, but we look forward to more productive and transparent engagement from the company in future.  

"While the committee was grateful for Google’s engagement in such a lively discussion, we remain concerned about the level of testing that the company carried out on its new AI features before they were rolled out to billions of users. It was also unable to properly answer our questions about the company’s steps to avoid monetising false and harmful information online - which is particularly worrying given its dominance of the online advertising market.” 

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