As I tried to indicate, I wrote it based on memory. (i.e. stuff I read online.)
This article came up when I searched it:
https://theintercept.com/2018/09/14/google-china-prototype-l...
>GOOGLE CHINA PROTOTYPE LINKS SEARCHES TO PHONE NUMBERS
>GOOGLE BUILT A prototype of a censored search engine for China that links users’ searches to their personal phone numbers, thus making it easier for the Chinese government to monitor people’s queries, The Intercept can reveal.
...
>Sources familiar with the project said that prototypes of the search engine linked the search app on a user’s Android smartphone with their phone number.
...
>“Linking searches to a phone number would make it much harder for people to avoid the kind of overreaching government surveillance that is pervasive in China.”
...
>The search engine would be operated as part of a “joint venture” partnership with a company based in mainland China, according to sources familiar with the project.
--
The Guardian's article leads with these sentences: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/sep/18/google-ch...
>Google's prototype Chinese search engine links searches to phone numbers
>Google’s secret prototype search engine for China reportedly links users’ mobile phone numbers to what search terms they’ve used.
>This feature would allow the Chinese government to simply associate searches with individuals, thereby putting Chinese citizens at increased risk of government repression if they search for topics that their government deems politically sensitive, according to the Intercept.
