Washington (AFP)

Donald Trump hinted Tuesday that his administration would conduct investigations on Google, recently targeted by billionaire Peter Thiel who accuses him of being infiltrated by Chinese intelligence.

"Tech investor billionaire Peter Thiel thinks that Google should be investigated for treason and accuses Google of working with the Chinese government," the Republican president tweeted.

"A brilliant and brilliant guy who knows this subject better than anyone else! The Trump administration will take a look!", He said.

Asked by AFP, Google said that these accusations were unfounded.

"As we said before, we do not work with the Chinese military," the group reacted.

Peter Thiel suggested on Sunday that the FBI and the CIA should investigate the infiltration of Google by Chinese intelligence, according to remarks made at a conference in Washington and reported by Axios.

He criticized Google, parent company of Alphabet, for his work in China, saying that the search engine giant was "engaged in the seemingly treacherous decision to work with the Chinese army and not with the US military," according to Axios.

Google closed its search engine in China in 2010, after denying Beijing's request to censor some search results.

But his boss Sundar Pichai had recognized for the first time last October that his search engine could return to China, saying that it would provide a "better information" to citizens than the competition.

"Does Google's top management believe it was infiltrated by the Chinese intelligence services?", "This is a question that must be asked by the FBI and the CIA," said the billionaire, quoted by Axios.

Peter Andreas Thiel, an American entrepreneur of German origin, is the co-founder of PayPal's online payment service with Elon Musk.

This is not the first time Donald Trump has attacked Google. The tenant of the White House believes that Google has a "bias" against him and his supporters.

Earlier this year, he also criticized the tech giant for withdrawing from a major Pentagon IT contract before softening his tone after meeting Sundar Pichai.

Google has limited commercial activities in China, but a recent report indicates that one of its scientists has been involved in a research project that may have civilian and military applications.

© 2019 AFP