[jkaplowitz]

Most of the public reporting was incorrect. The phrase never left the Google code of conduct, but it did move to a less prominent position, and the closest thing that has ever been in the code of conduct of the parent company Alphabet since its creation in 2015 is “Do the right thing”.

“Less prominent position” does not mean “zero prominence”. A mention in the final sentence is not anywhere near as prominent as it was before the change, but that’s still more prominent than something like hiding it in the middle.

Now, their adherence to the phrase has certainly decreased over time and was never perfect. That’s a separate matter.

Disclosure: I used to work for Google, but not since before Alphabet was created (which was some years before this Google code of conduct change). I never had any involvement in the decisions over this motto or the changes to where it shows up, beyond of course trying my best to adhere to it in my own work.