26 Nov Does Google Violate Its ‘Don’t Be Evil’ Motto?
NPR.org, November 26, 2008
As Internet search engine Google has exploded in popularity — adding new applications all the time — it also has sparked concerns about privacy, security and censorship online. The company’s motto is “Don’t Be Evil,” but is Google living up to it? Recently, a panel of six experts debated the proposition “Google Violates Its ‘Don’t Be Evil’ Motto” at an Intelligence Squared U.S. debate in New York City. The series pits experts on either side of an issue against each other in an Oxford-style debate. An audience at Rockefeller University’s Caspary Auditorium voted 21 percent for the motion and 31 percent against at the beginning of the Nov. 18 debate. Almost half, 48 percent, were undecided. By the end of the debate, moderated by John Donvan of ABC News, the audience was split, with 47 percent voting in favor of the motion “Google Violates Its ‘Don’t Be Evil’ Motto” and 47 percent against. Six percent remained undecided.