Google, according to a Thursday The Information story citing sources, is developing a news-aggregation app for China on the heels of a censored search engine for China the company reportedly has been working on.
The news-aggregation app, without a specific release date yet, will see Google pitting against the dominant Jinri Toutiao, the flagship product of Beijing-based Bytedance Technology.
Rumors of the news app and a filtered search engine signal that, eight years after its high-profile retreat, Google is now seeking ways back into China, now the world’s largest internet market with a connected population of more than 700 million.
Facebook, which is also inaccessible in China, recently registered with local authorities in China’s eastern Zhejiang province to set up a subsidiary in an aim to facilitate local innovation, the company told us in an emailed statement. However, the company’s filing has been removed in the wake of a flood of local media coverage on the registration.
Editor: Ben Jiang