Brave proxies Google endpoints (see https://github.com/brave/brave-browser/wiki/Deviations-from-Chromium-(features-we-disable-or-remove)#services-we-proxy-throu

Brave proxies Google endpoints (see https://github.com/brave/brave-browser/wiki/Deviations-from-Chromium-(features-we-disable-or-remove)#services-we-proxy-through-brave-servers https://github.com/brave/brave-browser/wiki/Deviations-from-... for a list). This is to prevent users from making unintended contact with Google. This particular error ("Access Denied") encountered by the author could be from Google, but could also be from a transient issue with the Brave proxy serving a 401 response (or similar). Sampson (Brave Team)