Google is evil

Following something I posted yesterday saying that Google scares me, here is an interesting article. Basically, this article confirms what I’ve been thinking and saying for a while. For those of you who don’t want to read the full article, here are a few snipets:

Some have interpreted the ceaseless criticisms of Google’s privacy policies and its co-operation with totalitarian regimes as a sign the Don’t Be Evil goal is unattainable for a profit-driven company.

I agree with that! If you’re in business, you have to be somewhat evil. If Google didn’t want to be evil, it would be a non-profit organization…

Collecting as much personal data as possible makes perfect commercial sense because it allows search companies such as Google to deliver highly targeted advertising and better search results, effectively making them more competitive.

But at the same time, people are beginning to fear they are losing control of their personal data and are reluctant to unequivocally trust Google to use their information responsibly.

What annoys me most is that 99.9% of people using Google have no clue that Google stores loads of information about you. Does Google use this information responsibly? I doubt it. Google analyzes each of your Internet moves to deliver highly targeted ads in your face.

Google has also been attacked for co-operating with totalitarian regimes by censoring its search results in China to appease the Chinese Government. Amnesty International pointed to Google’s “Don’t Be Evil” motto in criticising the company over the “self-censorship”.

Yahoo! has also been caught doing this and actually got a Chinese reporter sent to jail by disclosing private information to the Chinese government. How ethical is that?