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Google's motto is "don't be evil." Some assert that such sentiment — common sense for most human beings — is irrelevant for a corporate entity dedicated to the pursuit of profit. Yet Google is no jordinary company. It provides the infrastructure through which a significant portion of the world's population communicates each day. Google's applications — its search engine and other tools — structure the perceptions of billions of people. Few companies, if any, have exercised this kind of power.

This has provoked clashes with governments that believe they are the rightful holders of such influence and that Google is a challenge to their authority and legitimacy. Authoritarian governments are the most...