It may be old news, but it's new to me! I tested it and indeed that soft search block is still in effect.

Google is an arm of the US government. It just is. Or is it the other way around? Microsoft and Google servers run much of the US government, and I'm sure Amazon figures in there somewhere. This is an indisputable fact. Most US govt. employees must have both Microsoft and Google accounts as part of their job. Facebook is required as well, albeit unofficially.