GOP-led Congress grills Google CEO on China, privacy and alleged bias against conservatives

WASHINGTON – Questions on privacy, data collection, China, Russia --and especially political bias -- dominated Google CEO Sundar Pichai's grilling before Congress Tuesday. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy opened the House Judiciary Committee hearing by noting a "widening gap of distrust" between tech companies and the American people. He asked whether tech companies are "serving as instruments of freedom or instruments of control" in the U.S. and beyond. He also expressed concerns that Google's business practices may have been influenced by employees' political bias against conservatives. The question of bias has dogged tech companies for years, but there has been no credible evidence that political leanings factor into Google's search algorithm.