The company many consider to be a beacon for good practice in a sea of ‘evil’ may have switched to the dark side.

Recent moves by Google have seen it align more with the closed-door, somewhat nefarious, business styles of other giant companies.

Reports this week say Google has joined the group that uses the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) to force commercial agendas into US legislation. In separate news, Google will also be placing users’ faces, names and comments in its tailored advertising content.

There has been plenty of concern in the few days since it was revealed Google has signed-up for the services of ALEC, which has previously promoted tax cuts for tobacco companies, school privatisation to help private firms, repeal of state taxes for the wealthy and opposition to renewable energy.

More than 25,000 people have already signed a petition which urges all companies to “stop funding ALEC.” 

An author from the technology arena, Robert W. McChesney says: “It is true that with the advent of the Internet many of the successful giants - Apple and Google come to mind - were begun by idealists who may have been uncertain whether they really wanted to be old-fashioned capitalists... The system in short order has whipped them into shape.”

Google’s much-touted unofficial motto; ‘Don’t be Evil’, seems to become less official and less applicable every day.

A change to its Terms of Service has enabled the company to use names, photos and even social media endorsements in its advertising network.

Anything from a YouTube comment to an app rating after download will now be used to hone the already fine point of targeted Google ads.

The change is not as broad as it may seem. A settings page in Google Plus will allow users to turn the function off, and users under the age of 18 will not have their likeness or comments filched for advertising purposes.

The new terms of service go into effect on November 1; it is presumed that Google users will be given an option not to continue using the service if they are too strongly opposed. Reports say warning will also be given in the form of banner ads prior to the date.