i am having trouble believing that groups like ALEC and the heritage foundation, and politicians like ted cruz and clarence thomas, would be supporting an open internet and net neutrality. does google support a democratic internet?
<p>George</p>
<p>Thank you for taking the time to read the article today and for your comment. The article clearly distinguishes between payments made by Google and those made by the Google PAC. In fact there is only one paragraph in the article that describes any payments not coming from Google directly, and this paragraph makes clear that the payments are coming from the PAC. However, we have made a slight edit to this paragraph to further make clear that the subsequent contribution to the Senator Cruz reelection campaign is also payment from the Google PAC. No improper coordination is alleged.</p>
Really? I mean you know this is misleading. Can't anyone be honest anymore?
U.S. campaign finance law prohibits Google from making direct contributions to federal political candidates. But Google has many employees who want to support an open Internet. So, in 2006, we created the Google NetPAC, a Political Action Committee. The NetPAC is a transparent, regulated system that allows Googlers to join together and support candidates who share our common values. Additionally, NetPAC campaign contributions are never made in return for, or in anticipation of, an official act.
and
The Google NetPAC Board of Directors—a bipartisan group of senior Googlers—takes all the final decisions about the contributions made by NetPAC.
While U.S. federal law doesn’t allow corporate political contributions, many states do. In states where laws permit these contributions, Google may participate with the sole goal of promoting what’s good for an open Internet. Again, these contributions are closely overseen by Google’s VP of Public Policy & Government Affairs, along with Google’s Director of State Public Policy, and are also reviewed by Google’s Ethics & Compliance team and outside ethics counsel. The private political preferences of Google executives, directors and employees do not influence political contributions in any way.
http://www.google.com/publicpolicy/transparency.html
Pages