I personally am thankful to Google for doing the thing that's right for everyone(fixing security vulnerabilities) not just some "Western" countries as the author put it(not sure why the capital w but I am not a native english speaker)
"I visited a few of America's major cities, and was especially struck by how many New Yorkers speak English as a second language. "
So it's correct to capitalise "Meanwhile, Western countries might [...]" but not "There's a brisk westerly wind coming in over the sea".
I would call New Zealand a "Western country", but not a "western country". Chile is a "western country" but probably not a "Western country" (although the map linked seems to sometimes include it).