Why Google Needs to Create their Own Commandments
Google is in trouble.
Co-founder Sergey Brin has admitted they may have compromised their morals by agreeing to censor Chinese search results. If you’re a believer in the freedom of information exchange you may already think Google has done evil. One of Google’s founding ideals was to “do no evil”, and yet, here they are.
I’m a firm believer that the best business practice is to be radical. Take a stand for what is right, and you can never lose. Google has amazing potential to do great work in human rights, providing equal to access all information for all people, and profiting from the infrastructure for global uncensored information.
Think, Google. Which will be more profitable? Assisting a repressive government with a horrible human rights record, or taking a stand and becoming a beacon for the internet’s ability to stand up to abuse of power?
I suggest Google implements a set of commandments so everyone knows what constitutes “Evil” for a search engine. Here are my suggestions:
- Never Censor Results
- Never Reveal Individual’s Identities
- Never Reveal Individual’s Search History
- Never Reveal Individual’s Emails
- Never Keep Records Governments Could Abuse
- Share with People Potentials for Abuse
- Help People in Repressive Governments
- Make Government Requests Public
- Assist Open Source Software
- Give Back to Your Users
The world needs radical companies. Google, are you a radical company, or are you another multinational bowing to the needs of repressive governments for the right price? Will you be a positive influence on a progressive society, or will you contribute to its downfall? Decide. Your future depends on it.
