Don't be evil

"Don't be evil" is Google's former motto, and a phrase used in Google's corporate code of conduct.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

One of Google's early uses of the motto was in the prospectus for its 2004 IPO. In 2015, following Google's corporate restructuring as a subsidiary of the conglomerate Alphabet Inc., Google's code of conduct continued to use its original motto, while Alphabet's code of conduct used the motto "Do the right thing".^[5]^[6]^[7]^[1]^[8] In 2018, Google removed its original motto from the preface of its code of conduct but retained it in the last sentence.^[9]

^ ^a ^b Anon (2005). "Google Code of Conduct". investor.google.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2005. Our informal corporate motto is "Don't be evil." We Googlers generally relate those words to the way we serve our users – as well we should. But being "a different kind of company" means more than the products we make and the business we're building; it means making sure that our core values inform our conduct in all aspects of our lives as Google employees.
^ Hoofnagle, Chris Jay (April 2009). "Beyond Google and evil: How policy makers, journalists and consumers should talk differently about Google and privacy". First Monday. 14 (4).
^ "Google vs. Evil", Wired, vol. 11, 2003
^ Google Code of Conduct Alphabet Investor Relations
^ Lawler, Richard (2 October 2015). "Alphabet replaces Google's 'Don't be evil' with 'Do the right thing". Engadget. AOL. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
^ David Mayer (2 September 2016). "Why Google Was Smart To Drop Its 'Don't Be Evil' Motto". Fast Company. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
^ Tanya Basu (4 October 2015). "New Google Parent Company Drops 'Don't be Evil' Motto". Time. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
^ "Alphabet Code of Conduct". Alphabet. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
^ Montti, Roger (20 May 2018). "Google's "Don't Be Evil" No Longer Prefaces Code of Conduct". Search Engine Journal. Retrieved 20 May 2018.

[investor-1] Anon (2005). "Google Code of Conduct". investor.google.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2005. Our informal corporate motto is "Don't be evil." We Googlers generally relate those words to the way we serve our users – as well we should. But being "a different kind of company" means more than the products we make and the business we're building; it means making sure that our core values inform our conduct in all aspects of our lives as Google employees.

[auto-2] Hoofnagle, Chris Jay (April 2009). "Beyond Google and evil: How policy makers, journalists and consumers should talk differently about Google and privacy". First Monday. 14 (4).

[3] "Google vs. Evil", Wired, vol. 11, 2003

[4] Google Code of Conduct Alphabet Investor Relations

[5] Lawler, Richard (2 October 2015). "Alphabet replaces Google's 'Don't be evil' with 'Do the right thing". Engadget. AOL. Retrieved 7 October 2015.

[6] David Mayer (2 September 2016). "Why Google Was Smart To Drop Its 'Don't Be Evil' Motto". Fast Company. Retrieved 31 August 2017.

[7] Tanya Basu (4 October 2015). "New Google Parent Company Drops 'Don't be Evil' Motto". Time. Retrieved 31 August 2017.

[8] "Alphabet Code of Conduct". Alphabet. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2016.

[SEJ-9] Montti, Roger (20 May 2018). "Google's "Don't Be Evil" No Longer Prefaces Code of Conduct". Search Engine Journal. Retrieved 20 May 2018.

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