A simple loss of innocence or something more?
The restructuring of Google in August 2015 was a major tech shakeup, where a new parent company ‘Alphabet’ was set up and Google became one of the seven companies working under it. Apart from Google, the Alphabet umbrella covers Google Ventures, Calico, Nest , Google Capital, Fiber and Google X. It was also informed that each of these companies is to have its own CEO and motto.
When Alphabet was revealed, it was made clear that Google’s pre-existing ethics policy would only apply to the search firm itself, rather than its parent company. Alphabet will continue to use the ‘Google’ name for its web search operations, and Google will continue to use the ‘Don’t be evil’ mantra. And now, Alphabet has changed its motto.
The “Don’t be evil” tagline of Google was, at face value, a very simple and idealistic line. A lot of people identified it with the rebel image of a young company that went public in 2004. Alphabet has removed the motto from its rule book; does that permit it to be a little evil?
Often in the past, Google, a technology giant with wide-ranging interests in pursuits such as Google Glass, drones, smart homes and self-driving cars has been questioned on whether it lived up to its ‘Don’t be evil’ motto. The company has been accused of a debatable approach to tax and privacy, and allegations of tax avoidance and information gathering about people using Google services, from their use of the search engine, emails, their location data and even their photographs have been levelled against Google. A person no less that Steve Jobs criticised Google for failing to live up to its motto.
The new code of conduct is a rather dry corporate mantra insisting that employees should behave lawfully and ‘do the right thing’. ‘Employees of the company and its subsidiaries and controlled affiliates should do the right thing – follow the law, act honourably, and treat each other with respect,’ it said.
The rules go on to explain that employees should ‘ensure financial integrity’, ‘never falsify any company record,’ and obey anti-bribery, competition and insider trading laws. ‘Comply with all applicable legal requirements and understand the major laws and regulations that apply to your work,’ it said. The new code of conduct may be seen to be less moralistic and worded more formally, legally correct, if you prefer.
So, at least by being less idealistic, it will be a motto that should be easier to live with.
It was widely speculated when Google announced it’s restructuring that among its ventures, those that were ethically more difficult to justify (robotic soldiers is an example), may be placed under a separate company, enabling Google to maintain its commitment “not to be evil”. As a corollary, Alphabet may be just desire to be on the right side of the law, leaving morality slightly ambiguous.
The dropping of the “Don’t be evil” tag is not the only change. Alphabet’s new code has deleted advice about how much alcohol to drink at work and another one that instructed employees that it was fine to bring dogs into the office but cats have to be left at home. The new Alphabet code of conduct is tight-lipped on the subject cats and dogs.
The change of stance, if it really is one, is also being interpreted in several ways, some call it a sign of the times, and others see it as a sign of growth and maturity or recognition of corporate greatness and complexity that Google finds it saddled with.
A Google spokesman said, “Individual Alphabet companies may of course have their own codes to ensure they continue to promote compliance and great values. But if they start bringing cats to work, there’s going to be trouble with a capital T.”
So, the new rules are in place. We now must see how the game is played. By not being evil or just being within the law – whatever – it promises to be an interesting future!