This is so ridiculous that I wonder if the idea isn't to ban possible employee distractions, or that they can't find enough good security people to secure their

This is so ridiculous that I wonder if the idea isn't to ban possible employee distractions, or that they can't find enough good security people to secure their networks (I wouldn't think that would be a problem for Google). If you have enough good security people then there should never be a need to ban the entire internet. Instead, controls are put in place at network borders to minimize the risk of malicious content getting through, and controls placed on nodes to maximize the detection and isolation of malicious content that does get through. Some sites could go into an enforced black list, such as TikTok. As well as gatech.edu (/jk bc of Phrack). I have worked in dev sites with no internet (we had to exit and go across the hall), and it is draining as well as counter-productive to not have SO, Reddit, YouTube as references when you hit something you don't know how to solve; or not have HN, Reddit, Quora for periodic mental breaks to read up on latest tech news.