President Donald Trump on Tuesday pledged to scrutinize search engine Google after a prominent supporter, noted venture capitalist Peter Thiel, recently accused the internet company of “seemingly treasonous” activity.
Thiel, one of Silicon Valley’s best-known investors, spoke at the National Conservatism Conference on Sunday, where he called for law enforcement officials to examine Google’s activity in China. Thiel suggested that a Google artificial intelligence project known as DeepMind had been “infiltrated” by foreign intelligence operatives.
He also characterized the company’s efforts to develop a censored search engine for China, while declining to renew a contract with the U.S. government, as “seemingly treasonous.” Thiel called for the FBI and CIA to investigate Google “in a not excessively gentle manner,” according to Axios.
