Defining Evil Down

Google's informal corporate motto is "Don't Be Evil". What that has to do with running a search engine, I have no idea. But there has always been a bit of smarmy, self-satisfied, self-righteousness to that motto, not to mention hypocrisy, particularly in light of the company's policies. The company has come under scrutiny for refusing to run some conservative advertisements, and for other forms of ideological bias. Google's stand on First and Fourth Amendment protections in, for example, this case is absolutist, congruent to that of the ACLU, and likely to provide protection as well to the likes of child pornographers. It's probably only incidental that Google also likely benefits commercially from such a stance. Less tenuous is the link between Google's agreement to censor its search results in China and the company's own bottom line. Google will adhere to that country's free-speech restrictions in return for better access in the internet's fastest growing market.

I think a change in Google's motto is in order. I think Mazurland can help. Seattle blogger Jim Miller has gotten the ball rolling by suggesting Google be honest and say that it's OK to "Be Just A Little Bit Evil". There are many possibilities, some almost too ripe for the picking: from everyday speech, "See No Evil"; from film, "A Touch of Evil"; or, considering how Google's desktop tools are rummaging around people's computers, "Resident Evil".

[Image from Addict3D.org.]

Update: Michelle Malkin has started a China-Google Protest Logo Album.