Alphabet / Google — Ethics Grade C

Alphabet / Google receives an overall ethics grade of C (45/100) on CancelCo's corporate accountability database. Sector: Technology. Market cap: Mega Cap.

Category scores

• labor: 35
• privacy: 15
• consumer: 40
• environment: 70
• humanRights: 45

Documented incidents (4)

• COPPA violations on YouTube (high, 2019) — FTC fined Google $170M for illegally collecting children's personal data on YouTube without parental consent.
• Search monopoly lawsuit (high, 2022) — DOJ filed landmark antitrust case alleging Google illegally maintained monopoly in search and search advertising.
• Retaliation against union organizers (medium, 2021) — NLRB found Google illegally fired employees who organized protests over military AI contracts and workplace issues.
• Incognito mode tracking (high, 2023) — Settled $5B lawsuit for tracking users in Chrome Incognito mode despite promises of privacy.

Documented good deeds

• Carbon-free energy goal — Operating on 24/7 carbon-free energy at multiple data centers. Largest corporate buyer of renewable energy.
• $1B affordable housing commitment — Committed $1B to create 20,000 affordable homes in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Ethical alternatives

• DuckDuckGo — Privacy-focused search engine. No tracking, no profiling, no filter bubbles.
• ProtonMail — End-to-end encrypted email based in Switzerland. No ads, no tracking.