Quiz: "smooth" or "soften"?

The correct answer is: smooth

If Google isn't able to smooth ruffled feathers in China, it may lose its licence to operate there.

If you smooth ruffled feathers, you make somebody feel less angry or offended.

smooth ruffled feathers = die Gemüter besänftigen
ruffled = zerzaust

This week, in an attempt to pacify China's internet authorities, Google decided to stop automatically redirecting its Chinese users to its Hong Kong site. Google began the redirecting in March to get around China's strict censorship laws. However, the Chinese government has made it clear that it finds the redirect unacceptable and has threatened not to renew Google's internet content provider (ICP) licence on 30 June. Without an ICP licence, Google could no longer operate the google.cn address within China.

Google is now sending Chinese users to a new web page that offers a link to google.com.hk and hopes this will be acceptable to the Chinese government.