Does using Google's products constitute co-operation with evil?

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kantus12

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Hello all,

I’ve begun to worry somewhat - I know that Google is, at the least, supportive of such unChristian things as gay marriage. Do you think using their services counts as material co-operation with evil? I doubt it could be formal co-operation, since we surely don’t intend to help them support such things. But Google has become so powerful and prevalent that it’s hard for me to imagine living my life without using at least some of the things they now own (Youtube, or especially GMail)! Strangely, though, I’ll probably get notifications of updates to this thread through my GMail client… which provides me with more uncertainty and worry.

Can somebody help me out here? I’m not sure what I ought to do.

Thanks,
kantus
 
Count me and a friend among those who have completely stopped intentionally using Google products as a response to their immense power, marketshare and disregard for local laws and privacy (look up some of the streetview cases, Wi-Fi snooping, and Glass). I can’t claim any particular Catholic reason for stopping, although there definitely is a moral reason, in my esteem. My friend, on the other hand, is an atheist, but has the same kind of concerns I do.

The Church certainly won’t look down upon you or throw you out for continuing to use Google services and there’s no official policy on it. But my personal view is that yes, there is a moral dimension to continuing to patronize a business which engages in practices you disprove of and consider counter to morality or decency.

You can still use YouTube on occasion without an account. At least closing your personal accounts with them would be a stand, even if you didn’t completely stop using their products, which, as you say, would be difficult (I believe this site has Google Analytics/Stats installed, so we’re indirectly “using” Google services even here).

e-Mail is simple to supplant. There are plenty of other services and you can buy hosting and buy your own e-mail address/domain name.

Maybe you should lay out what practices in particular you have an issue with to help you decide the severity of your issues with the company and whether they warrant closing your accounts with them.
 
I don’t know if it is a “cooperation with evil” but we no longer use Google’s services, more of a protest or boycott. I’m sure a lot of other companies have their issues as well, but I try not to support them.
 
kantus12 said:
Hello all,

I’ve begun to worry somewhat - I know that Google is, at the least, supportive of such unChristian things as gay marriage. Do you think using their services counts as material co-operation with evil? I doubt it could be formal co-operation, since we surely don’t intend to help them support such things. But Google has become so powerful and prevalent that it’s hard for me to imagine living my life without using at least some of the things they now own (Youtube, or especially GMail)! Strangely, though, I’ll probably get notifications of updates to this thread through my GMail client… which provides me with more uncertainty and worry.

Can somebody help me out here? I’m not sure what I ought to do.

Thanks,
kantus
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It probably is but we couldn’t function without some cooperation with evil. Using Google would be remote, material cooperation. It is not your intent to forward any evil they do and your participation is many, many steps removed from it.

It’s not any worse (morally speaking) than paying your taxes. The government absolutely uses tax money for many evil purposes but it’s not our will that it does so and we are many, many steps removed.

That being said, if there is a more moral choice available, it’s nice to be able to vote with your wallet and buy it instead of a Google product.
 
IMO google is an extremely snoopy company, and somehow people willingly flock to them without realizing the true cost of all the personal data they give up in return for lower priced products and services.
 
Last Easter Sunday, google honored Cesar Chavez. I wonder what this years’ antics will be. I quit using them as a search engine.
 
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