Google Public Policy Blog Makes Online Debut

Perhaps bored with having conquered the online ad market, Google has just launched a blog focused on US government legislation and regulation, a move that betrays its growing interest in overt political affairs, reports Yahoo. The blog focuses on issues such as privacy and copyright protection. It has existed internally for over two months. This move marks a more aggressive interest by Google in political affairs at large. Last year the search conglomo led a number of Web-based companies in demanding Congress pass a series of net neutrality rules prohibiting broadband carriers from blocking or slowing Web content offered by their competitors. This year they lend unsolicited advice on how the FCC should auction the 60MHz of spectrum in the 700MHz band emptied by US television networks. "We’re seeking to do public policy advocacy in a Googley way," wrote Director Andrew McLaughlin of Google's public policy and government affairs department. "We want our users to be part of the effort, to know what we’re saying and why, and to help us refine and improve our policy positions and advocacy strategies. With input and ideas from our users, we’ll surely do a better job of fighting for our common interests."