Google’s slogan is do no evil. After reading the latest headlines about Google’s decision to censor The Pirate Bay in its auto-complete results it had me wondering if it’s time to abandon ship. It’s not the first time Google censors things – they have censored many piracy-related search terms over the past to pull their weight in the war against online piracy. But what are the implications?
If you are cataloging the web, should you really tamper with the results? When you grow big and powerful enough things eventually start to change, even if you are do-no-evil-Google. They are no longer a simple cataloger of the web but a massive multinational corporation employing thousands of people in over 30 countries and hundreds of cities around the world. Their catalog has grown so big and influential that they feel inclined to employ a moral compass to guide people in what they believe to be the right direction.
And this is where Google stumbles down the slippery slope of loosing touch with its humble beginnings. Google no longer feels like the online unbiased buddy you could turn to with any question whenever you needed help with finding your way digitally. Maybe DuckDuckGo will serve us better with its privacy and anonymity.
