Don’t Be Evil

What Does Don’t Be Evil Mean?

Don’t be evil is an informal slogan for Google. This motto was conceived by two Google employees, Paul Buccheit and Amit Patel, in an attempt to promote a corporate culture that put long-term gains and user satisfaction above short-term profits. The company believes this philosophy benefits both users and shareholders and that Internet companies don’t need to exploit users to make money.

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Don’t be evil is also incorrectly referred to as do no evil.

Techopedia Explains Don’t Be Evil

Google’s vision – as stated in the company’s 2004 IPO prospectus – was to conduct business in a way that is honest and free of any cheating. This slogan was also designed as an answer to Google’s competitors, which Google believed exploited users for short-term gain. Google executives liked the motto so much that they added several clauses within the company’s corporate policy, calling it the "Don’t be Evil Manifesto".

Whatever Google’s intentions, Don’t Be Evil has been subject to criticism from competitors, online entrepreneurs and privacy advocates who argue that Google has unjustly weilded its tremendous online influence and power.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…