Google Parent Drops 'Don't Be Evil'

Big changes are happening at Google, including a code-of-conduct alteration that has raised some eyebrows: New company Alphabet officially became Google's holding company on Friday, and the famous "Don't Be Evil" motto isn't part of its creed, the Verge reports. But being evil is still apparently frowned upon: The new Alphabet code of conduct says employees should "do the right thing—follow the law, act honorably, and treat each other with respect," reports the Wall Street Journal.

The Journal notes that the new code, which was submitted to regulators before Alphabet stock starts trading Monday, is a lot shorter than Google's old one and a lot less quirky: Employees are no longer informed that they are at a "dog company" where it would be unwise to bring a cat to the office. But while "Don't Be Evil" will no longer be the official code of conduct at the new Alphabet divisions that will take over things like the self-driving car project, it will live on the code for workers still under the Google search engine division, the Independent reports. (This staggering robot is no longer Google's responsibility.)