Google’s Eric Schmid Answers Privacy Concerns by Chinese Scholar at HKS Talk

By David Li, bostonese.com

Cambridge, Mass., August 15, 2014, Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Google, gave a talk at Harvard Kennedy School of Government (HKS) in May 2014. He discussed his views on innovation, technology and entrepreneurship with moderator CNN’s David Gergen. Mr. Gang Wu, a visiting scholar at HKS, asked Eric Schmidt about how Google would protect privacy of its users.
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Mr. Gang Wu asks Eric Schmidt about privacy protection.



Schmidt answered questions about the critical role Google plays in digital enterprises, job creation, and the future of society. He talked about using Virtual Private Connection (VPN) to get around censorship on Internet.

The talk was titled as Innovation and Leadership in the New Digital Age, and was hosted by Institute of Politics of Harvard University.

Mr. Gang Wu is a senior manager at China National Radio and has been very active in innovation and entrepreneurship research as a visiting scholar at HKS. He asked the question (at about 44:55 in the video) about how Google would respond to a White House Big Data and Privacy report, and ensure that its user’s privacy get protected.

Eric Schmid answered that Google was reviewing the White House report. He mentioned that Google users can use Google Dashboard to customize what information Google can retain from their Internet activities.

Eric Schmid (left) and David Gergen at the HKS talk (Jon Chase/Harvard Staff Photographer).


Since joining Google in 2001, Eric Schmidt has helped grow the company from a Silicon Valley startup to a global leader in technology. As executive chairman, he is responsible for the external matters of Google: building partnerships and broader business relationships, government outreach and technology thought leadership, as well as advising the CEO and senior leadership on business and policy issues.

From 2001-2011, Mr. Schmidt served as Google’s Chief Executive Officer, overseeing the company’s technical and business strategy alongside founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page. Under his leadership, Google dramatically scaled its infrastructure and diversified its product offerings while maintaining a strong culture of innovation.

Mr. Schmidt holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Princeton University as well as a master’s degree and Ph.D. in computer science from the University of California, Berkeley.