Google has the reputation for being the big evil tech giant that everyone should avoid. It was well earned decades ago, but there are much bigger evils now like Microsoft and Amazon who get disproportionately less attention.
When Google employees protest and petition Google taking a contract from some evil activity like ICE, weapons production, or fossil fuels, Google reacts and often renounces such contracts. The rationale is sometimes Google’s AI principles – principles that don’t even exist at other tech giants.
When Amazon and Microsoft employees petition and protest, they’re told to piss off and get threatened with sacking. And Microsoft also has the lion’s share of the more evil gov contracts. This article is ram-packed with dense information about these companies and Google is clearly a lesser of evils.
I still boycott Google, but so many fools leave Google for DuckDuckGo thinking that’s an ethical improvement. DDG is a bigger evil than Google because DDG feeds Amazon & Microsoft. There are plenty of decent search engines that don’t rely on either (e.g. Metager, Mojeek and Ekoru).
The problem is this “deGoogle” movement. There is a deGoogle movement and not a deAmazon or deMicrosoft movement. It’s all relative and “deGoogle” sends the wrong message. It actually helps Google’s more harmful competitors.
Speaking as someone who has participated (and is participating) in this ‘DeGoogle’ movement (see https://reverseeagle.org/), I know that Microsoft and Amazon are evil. I know that we should do everything we can do de-amazon, de-microsoft, de-apple, &c.
I think if we tell people to do it all at once, they’re gonna say ‘fuck you’, and move on. If we tell people that we need to de-google, and tell them why, the logical conclusion is that they should de-microsoft, de-amazon. They can do that if they feel comfortable, but we’re saying ‘at least degoogle’. DeGoogling alone is better than saying ‘fuck you I’m not gonna do anything’ because we forced it on them all at once.
That being said, we do have plans, once we’ve got everything set up, to start focusing on Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, &c.
It is easier to focus on one problem at a time. I can definitely see how overwhelming it would be to tell everyone to leave everything all at once.