Google's Search for Political Influence

GOOGLE'S SEARCH FOR POLITICAL INFLUENCE
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Jim Puzzanghera]
Of the billions of searches conducted by Google, potentially its most important is the quest for influence in the nation's capital. The Silicon Valley company's dominance of Internet search is built on its mastery of advanced mathematical algorithms. But like other fast-growing tech titans before it, Google is finding Washington's political calculus harder to solve. Since opening its Washington office last summer, Google's attempts to establish its presence has moved at dial-up speed -- resulting in a slow and sometimes balky connection with lawmakers that has irritated both Democrats and Republicans. "I think they've been a little bit too innocent in how the game is played," said Robert Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a tech-focused Washington think tank. Google's efforts to rally support for rules guaranteeing open Internet access -- an abstract issue known as Net neutrality -- has been called largely ineffective by key Democratic supporters. Heavily lopsided political contributions to Democrats from Google employees have annoyed the GOP majority. And in what veteran lobbyists called a high-profile tactical mistake, a Google executive called before a House panel this year tried to engage subcommittee members critical of the firm in a debate. The head of Google's three-person Washington operation is unapologetic for the unconventional company's unconventional strategy. "Google will always be Google," said Alan B. Davidson, the company's Washington policy counsel. "We're not going to hide. We're going to talk about what we're doing. We think that being transparent and open is the better long-run approach."
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-googlobby22may22,1,56...
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