From Idealism to Corporate Reality | Generated by AI
Google’s “Don’t Be Evil” slogan has an interesting history and meaning:
Original Intent
When Google adopted this as an unofficial motto in the early 2000s, it was meant to be a simple, clear ethical guideline for decision-making. The idea was that when facing business choices, employees should ask: “Would this be evil?” It was deliberately informal and a bit cheeky—a reminder to prioritize user interests over short-term profits.
The slogan represented values like:
- Not manipulating search results for financial gain
- Being transparent with users
- Respecting user privacy
- Avoiding conflicts of interest
Why It Resonated
It worked well as a motto because it was memorable and gave employees a simple litmus test. Instead of complex ethical frameworks, you could just ask: “Is this evil?” It also helped Google position itself as different from other corporations during the dot-com era.
The Controversy
Over time, “Don’t Be Evil” became somewhat controversial because:
- Vagueness - What counts as “evil” is subjective and changes with context
- Growing pains - As Google became massive, some decisions (data collection practices, working with governments, ad policies) led critics to argue they’d abandoned the principle
- Official change - In 2015, when Google restructured under Alphabet, the official code of conduct shifted to “Do the right thing,” though “Don’t be evil” still appears in it
The slogan is now often invoked ironically when people criticize Google’s practices, showing how a simple ethical statement can become complicated when a company grows from startup to tech giant.