Google Hearing to Preview Democrats’ Strategy on Big Tech

Democrats and Google executives worked arm in arm for years, particularly during the Obama administration. But when Sundar Pichai, Google’s chief executive, testifies before Congress, some of the toughest questioning is likely to come from Democrats. The hearing will provide an early glimpse of how Democrats plan to approach Silicon Valley giants in the coming year as they assume control of the House of Representatives. And the testimony from Pichai, who is appearing before lawmakers after initially resisting, may provide clues about how he and the company will approach them. Pichai is likely to get questions about Google’s search results, which company executives have repeatedly denied are altered for political purposes. He will probably also get questions about privacy and how the company handles cases of sexual harassment. Democratic and Republican lawmakers are also expected to press him on Google’s possible plans for re-entering China, a market the company left in 2010 over concerns about censorship and government hacking.