Google CEO to tell Congress company 'supports federal privacy legislation' amid allegations of security violations and political bias

The boss of Google - under fire over allegations of political bias and its failure to protect personal information - is to tell congress it supports government legislation that defends against privacy violations.

On the day Google announced it was to terminate earlier than planned its modestly-used social media network Google Plus because of a flaw that had leaked the personal information of 52.5m users, CEO Sundar Pichai made clear he would defend the company against accusations of favouritism or predisposition.

“I lead this company without political bias and work to ensure that our products continue to operate that way,” Mr Pichai will say in prepared remarks he is due to deliver on Capitol Hill. “To do otherwise would go against our core principles and our business interests.”

He added: “We are a company that provides platforms for diverse perspectives and opinions - and we have no shortage of them among our own employees.

“Some of our Googlers are former servicemen and women who have risked much in defence of our country. Some are civil libertarians who fiercely defend freedom of expression.”

The comments come after Donald Trump warned this summer that tech companies including Google, Twitter and Facebook were “treading on very, very troubled territory and have to be careful”. He also accused Google of altering search results to prioritise negative coverage and left-leaning outlets.

“Google has really taken advantage of a lot of people and I think that's a very serious thing and it's a very serious charge,” Mr Trump told reporters in August. “They better be careful because they can’t do that to people.”

He also tweeted: “Google search results for ‘Trump News’ shows only the viewing/reporting of Fake New Media.

“In other words, they have it RIGGED, for me & others, so that almost all stories & news is BAD. Fake CNN is prominent. Republican/Conservative & Fair Media is shut out.”

Mr Pichai’s scheduled appearance before the House of Representatives’ judiciary committee comes three months after the tech boss turned down a previous invitation to give testimony, something that angered some politicians.

Some members of congress are now mulling tougher regulations to curb the power of Google, Facebook and other technology companies, in addition to tighter controls over digital privacy, the Associated Press reported.

Facebook has had even more trouble guarding the personal information that it obtains through its social networking service, which now has more than 2.2bn users.

The most obvious breakdown came in March when the company admitted the personal information of as many as 87m of its users had been shared with Cambridge Analytica, a data mining firm affiliated with Mr Trump's 2016 campaign.

Mr Pichai is just the latest in a succession of tech leaders to appear on Capitol Hill, as congress seeks to increase its scrutiny of an industry that for many years appeared to do as it pleased.

In September, Facebook CEO Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testified before the Senate intelligence committee about their attempts to try and stop foreign interference in elections held in the US.

On that occasion, Google was represented by an empty chair, given that neither Mr Pichai or his boss Alphabet CEO Larry Page agreed to appear.