There was a good article in the Journal the other day on Google not being able to win by sponsoring a CPAC meeting which is sponsorship of conservatives. Google's employees objected to this at a time when there are discussions on the Hill about bias in several of the tech companies. Not good timing, on any side of the situation.
Maybe what Google knows is that politics and business do not go together very well. I'm not saying that certain businesses do not favor certain political parties, but that they do so without antagonizing the others. It is a balance between sticking your finger in the eye of one group to help another. Conservatives think Google favors the liberal thinkers, and liberals think this CPAC sponsorship is a bridge too far. Both are right. Google should be like the Swiss - neutral.
That runs both ways. Those liberal stances against working for the US Military and supporting the Chinese at the same time are clearly not good for business, but especially not good for politics. Throttling groups' sites makes enemies of all who view them. They invite regulation when they take stances like that. They invite regulation when they sponsor CPAC. That means they are trying to be "fair" and all they are doing is making enemies on both sides.
They shouldn't make enemies; they should make better deals for their products and services and stay out of politics, both here and in China. Their employees need to know that strategy and implement it in the way they do business. No manipulation of the capabilities it has for any political causes - period. I kind of wonder who on K Street is working for Google because whoever it is needs to rethink their strategy towards the powerful people sitting in Congress. Stay away from all of them unless they try to interfere with business. Where are the really hurting Google's business? Nowhere that I can see - yet.
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