Journalists, academics and consumers have all criticized Google for failing to live up to its unofficial slogan “don’t be evil.” They all miss the point. “Don’t be evil” is a weak moral creed and criticizing Google for being evil simply strengthens Google’s authority to police its own morality.

Not that Google should abandon this slogan in order to “be evil.” Rather I believe the slogan sets the ethical bar far too low. “Evil” is simply not a very helpful word when criticizing a corporation like Google.

To begin with, “evil” is a strong word. It suggests a moral absolute. When Google agreed to censor search results in China, was that evil? What about when Google joined with Verizon to propose an Internet regulation policy that critics say would allow corporations to regulate wireless Internet outside of FCC regulation?

Critics of Google who use “don’t be evil” in their critique assume the difficult task of proving that Google’s actions are actually evil, not just harmful or wrong.

Even if Google is acting evil that does not mean that the company is doing good. “Don’t be evil” doesn’t say a thing about being good.

To be fair, Google does make a connection between their slogan and doing good. Its corporate code of conduct web page states that, “‘Don’t be evil'” is “also about doing the right thing.” But this commitment to do good is still based on a commitment to avoid evil.

For Google, “don’t be evil” comes first. Doing the right thing is simply the result of not doing evil, and this implies that Google recognizes good only by avoiding evil.

Then how does Google determine what is evil? According to a 2003 article in Wired Magazine, co-founder Sergey Brin decides what is evil for the company. I suspect that more individuals contribute to this decision now. Still, if one person’s definition of evil is the sole moral restraint of a company then the restraint is a poor one.

At this point one might object that Google does not have the final say on whether or not it is evil. After all, critics can and do challenge Google’s claim that its actions are not evil. One prominent example is googledontbeevil.com, a website protesting the Google-Verizon policy proposal that would allow corporate control of wireless Internet bandwidth.

This website charges that the decision is evil and that Google should renounce the deal. The website is directly addressed to Mr. Brin and his co-founder Larry Page. This direct appeal supports the idea that Google should be judged by whether or not it does evil. It also supports the claim that Google’s leaders are the ideal people to decide.

Criticizing Google for being evil means accepting the claim that to be a good company all Google needs to do is avoid doing evil. Instead we should consider holding corporations to a higher standard, one that they themselves do not set.