Even so, Gartner analyst Whit Andrews points out that “Globally, Google’s brand is one of the most positively viewed in the world. Yes, there are ebbs and flows in the way certain people view it but it’s clear from the company’s growth that the vast majority of users and advertisers believe Google is taking care of their needs.”

Back in China, meanwhile, protesters have set up websites asking Google to reconsider, and Google’s operations in that country have yet, in fact, to be altered at all. Negotiations with the Chinese government are continuing, behind closed doors. That means that, six weeks after the announcement was made, the champion of the free web is still talking to a previously hostile superpower. Sources close to the negotiations say there is real movement, but that Google’s position remains clear. Maybe – just maybe – the company will end up effecting a real shift in China’s attitude. So is Google influential, enormous, profitable, occasionally naïve and sometimes ruthless? Surely. But evil? Not yet.

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