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Opinions on Google are decidedly split. While one party hails the engine as the end-all-be-all in search superiority and advertising awesomeness, the other deems it the algorithmic Antichrist — an inherent invader of privacy, and the exploiter of unknown millions.

Regardless, Google has undoubtedly changed the world. And in their latest debacle with the Chinese, the bandwidth behemoth is making a convincing argument that they’ve brought us together for better, and not for worse.

When Google decided to enter the Chinese market a few years ago, they complied with controversial censorship rules and moved into murky waters. While Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are respected for letting their creation simply “do its thing,” the decision to allow mass censorship suddenly brought their pious, arms-length stance into question. Suddenly, Google’s omniscience became overtly political, entering an ethical gray area.

Now, with a 15-20% share in the Chinese search market, perhaps the largest emerging market in the world, Google has made what could be one of the digital era’s most profound moves — by challenging China’s strict censorship policies and threatening to leave the country entirely.

So while the entire world stood more or less powerless in the face of Chinese censorship, Google comes along and challenges the world’s biggest nation. And with Secretary of State Hilary Clinton weighing in on the issue, could Google’s ultimatum be bringing us one step closer digital warfare?

AdAges’s Henry Blodget reminds us that Google isn’t playing a game of Socio-Political Chinese Checkers — it’s just good business:

Google has played the overall China situation maturely and brilliantly. It has not been evil. It has balanced the interests of its shareholders, employees, and, importantly, Chinese people. It has also done the most it can to address an appalling and ridiculous injustice in the world’s most populous country.

For more on this story, check out AdAge.

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