Unlike Google, Alphabet is now free to be EVIL

Following the corporate reshuffle at Google HQ, some changes have been made to the Code of Conduct

THE famous "don't be evil" mantra from the Google code of conduct has vanished from the US technology firm's new holding firm, Alphabet.

 

The code of conduct at Alphabet is not quite as strict as it used to be for good ol' Google.

Following a corporate reshuffle at Google – the US technology firm is now under the wing of a brand-new holding company called Alphabet.

The world's largest search company also took the opportunity to spin-off a number of its subsidiaries including the biotech firm looking to 'cure death' Calico and the moonshot self-driving car division, Google X.

Nest, Google Fibre and Google Ventures are also now subsidiaries of Alphabet, rather than Google.

 

In a nutshell, Google still exists – but is now a simply a smaller cog inside a much larger company. And this company comes with a brand-new look, website and ethics policy.

Alphabet has chosen not to adopt the ethics policy which was created for Google (and still holds true for the search firm).

Instead of the iconic "don’t be evil" warning to employees found in the Google code of conduct, Alphabet simply warns people to "obey the law".

 

Nest, the home thermostat and security camera company, is now also a subsidiary of Alphabet

 

Google's super-fast US internet business, Google Fibre, has also been spun-off from the search firm

The new holding company also tells its employees and employees of its subsidiaries to "avoid conflicts of interest", "ensure financial integrity", "follow the law, act honourably, and treat each other with respect."

Thanks to the recent corporate reshuffle, each of the Alphabet subsidiaries can now have their own code of conduct, rather than be subject to Google's, as they were in the past.

Google recently held an event to announce two new smartphones, the Huawei-built Nexus 6P and LG-made Nexus 5X.

It also unveiled a refreshed Chromecast streaming device and a Chromecast Audio dongle – which turns old speaker systems into wifi-enabled connected speakers.