Did Google drop its 'don't-be-evil' philosophy?

Search giant's Korean unit faces antitrust inspection

By Kim Tae-gyu

For Google, a monopoly may not seem inherently evil or wrong. Otherwise, watchers ask why the search giant, famous for its corporate mottos of "Don't be evil" and "Do the right thing," is being investigated for antitrust activities around the world.

Google Korea, for instance, is facing competition charges ― the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) raided its Seoul office last week to check whether it is abusing its dominant market position.

Based on the dominance of its Android mobile operating system (OS), which has carved out more than 90 percent of the market, Google Korea is accused of having compelled handset producers to pre-install its browser and search apps in their products.

The antitrust agency is also addressing another charge, that Google has hampered the development of competing OS providers through exclusive contracts with phone producers.

In addition, complaints were raised that Google Korea has tried to unduly favor its affiliate in in-game ads.

The FTC has carried out preliminary scrutiny on Google Korea over the past few months after the European Commission formally charged the tech giant with monopoly abuse in April.

Fresh suspicions also sprang up this month that Google's European operations breached EU antitrust rules through levying strict contract terms in its advertising services.

Google could reportedly be fined up to $7 billion for each charge because the European Commission has the authority to fine the firm a maximum of 10 percent of its annual turnover.

Last year, reports came out that U.S. trustbusters were keeping an eye on Google.

"A few years ago, the Korean FTC wrapped up its anti-competition inquiries into Google empty-handed, so it would be very cautious and thorough this time," said an industry source who asked not to be named.

"If Google Korea is found to have hampered fair competition, its reputation will be hurt greatly because the company has been respected on the back of its don't-be-evil and do-the-right-thing approach."

In 2013, the FTC also investigated Google Korea over complaints that it had required handset makers to pre-install its apps on Android phones. Back then, it was cleared of the charges thanks to its low 10 percent market share in mobile search services.

From "Don't be evil" to "Do the right thing"

The don't-be-evil motto was not the brainchild of Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. But it was the two super-wealthy entrepreneurs who instituted the famous slogan.

Just ahead of its initial public offering in 2004, the cofounders sent a letter to employees to repeat the mantra. Later, it was called the "Don't-be-evil manifesto."

"We believe strongly that in the long term, we will be better served ― as shareholders and in all other ways ― by a company that does good things for the world even if we forgo some short-term gains," it read. "This is an important aspect of our culture and is broadly shared within the company."

Critics contended that the philosophy has been compromised because Google opted for commercial opportunities over the interests of end customers in hot-button privacy issues and monopoly concerns.

"Google has kneeled to commercial appeal. Any company can do so in this capitalistic society. But we are particularly disappointed because it is Google," said an engineer at a local gaming company.

"I expected that Google would eventually belie its motto but hoped that such a gloomy day would come as late as possible. Now I feel it's the end of the don't-be-evil era."

He added that it is scary if a company like Google turns evil because it has access to vast amounts of personal data ― people's emails, search keywords, shopping habits, appetites and even their careers.

Google itself seems to be modifying the don't-be-evil imperative. The sixth of its official corporate philosophies, titled "10 things we know to be true" is "you can make money without doing evil."

After Google became the subsidiary of conglomerate Alphabet, the slogan was replaced in the Alphabet corporate code of conduct by "do the right thing."

There were grievances within Google that the decade-long don't-be-evil slogan is ambiguous as a guiding principle of such a big company. And a decreasing number of people talk about it.

This seems to prompt some people to think that Google has turned its back on the don't-be-evil credo. Some half-jokingly say that Google still sticks to its don't-be-evil philosophy "unless it's profitable."

Brief history of Google Korea

In 2006, a decade after its establishment in the United States, Google tapped into Korea with great fanfare. Overshadowed by strong homegrown rivals, however, the company failed to make its presence felt throughout the 2000s.

Back then, its unique ad-free interface had attracted global attention but it was nothing more than an also-ran from the perspective of Koreans who were so accustomed to the interfaces of domestic portals Naver and Daum.

As far as the online search market was concerned, Google Korea was far from a monopoly. Rather, it was closer to a victim of the local players' duopoly. In fact, rumors swirled around several times that Google would leave Asia's fourth-largest economy.

But things changed in favor of Google Korea with the full-fledged advent of smartphones in the 2010s and the Seoul-based outfit established its footing in tandem with the meteoric rise of smartphones. Android accounts for up to 92 percent of the mobile OS market here.

Thanks to the popularity of Android, the firm is estimated to rake in around 1 trillion won in sales a year, though that figure has not been confirmed by Google Korea.

Despite that exponential growth, it suffered from a series of challenges on top of the monopoly charges.

For example, it recently asked the Korean government for a license to use the nation's maps so that it would be able to host geographic data on its overseas servers. Its earlier request was turned down in 2007.

Criticisms followed that Google was attempting to make money on Korean map data without paying taxes by not housing the servers in Korea.

Google countered that the government's reluctance to share its map data will cause some Korean companies to miss out on business opportunities, but few appear to buy the explanation.

The Korea Times tried several times to contact Google spokespeople for comment but they were not available.