Don't be evil: strenghten due dilligence and export licenses for tech companies

In 1999, a young technology company called Google was brainstorming a mission statement for the corporation. A series of core principles were written on a blackboard, until one employee summarized them as 'Don't be evil'. The slogan became a rallying cry for Google's fans, and a way to distinguish it from other companies, but what does it actually mean for a technology company to avoid 'evil'?

This is a question of increasing importance at a time when certain governments depend on technologies to monitor the movements and communications of their inhabitants and control access to information. Western technologies have been actively used for these purposes by repressive regimes like Syria and Iran.