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What steps do people take to comply with #2d ? Does the British Computing Society maintain a service which keeps people up to date with legislation and relevant

What steps do people take to comply with #2d ? Does the British Computing Society maintain a service which keeps people up to date with legislation and relevant court rulings and where you can ask hypothetical questions of actual lawyers?

gregmac 11y ago
This one does seem quite onerous: how do you even know what legislation applies to the software you're working on, to even ask the right questions? There are already specialists in legislation (we call them lawyers), so why should the programmers take on this responsibility? I agree with the spirit of the rule, but I don't think it makes sense as it's basically asking all programmers to become lawyers. It should be more along the lines of "comply with legislation you are (made) aware of" and require some due diligence like "solicit the services of a lawyer if there is a reasonable belief there is legislation that could apply".
- edent 11y ago
  That's part of your professional responsibility. How do you know not to store passwords in plain-text? How do you know that you have to make your software accessible to people with visual impairments? I honestly don't think you need a legal degree to know that "dramatically alter how the pollution controls works when in a test environment" is likely to be extremely dodgy! Now, maybe these programmers did flag this as a problem. And, maybe VW's high-priced lawyers said it was OK. In which case, responsibility is probably shifted. I'm not saying every programmer should be a lawyer. But you can't say "how was I supposed to know that running a red light while drunk is illegal?! I'm just a delivery driver - not a lawyer."
edent 11y ago
I do receive emails from them talking about policy changes - and the BCS's position on government consultations. They also have a number of reports & white papers which members can read. Members also have access to a legal helpline. Don't think I can link to it, but it says... > As part of the ongoing commitment from BCS to invest in services and benefits, the BCS has launched a new and improved Legal Advisory Service comprising two new online legal information websites and a dedicated telephone helpline for both Business and Personal legal issues (restrictions apply*). These services are totally FREE and are provided by Law Express, the UK's leading specialist provider of legal advice. I've not had cause to use it, so I can't comment on how well it works in practice.

gregmac 11y ago

This one does seem quite onerous: how do you even know what legislation applies to the software you're working on, to even ask the right questions? There are already specialists in legislation (we call them lawyers), so why should the programmers take on this responsibility? I agree with the spirit of the rule, but I don't think it makes sense as it's basically asking all programmers to become lawyers. It should be more along the lines of "comply with legislation you are (made) aware of" and require some due diligence like "solicit the services of a lawyer if there is a reasonable belief there is legislation that could apply".

edent 11y ago
That's part of your professional responsibility. How do you know not to store passwords in plain-text? How do you know that you have to make your software accessible to people with visual impairments? I honestly don't think you need a legal degree to know that "dramatically alter how the pollution controls works when in a test environment" is likely to be extremely dodgy! Now, maybe these programmers did flag this as a problem. And, maybe VW's high-priced lawyers said it was OK. In which case, responsibility is probably shifted. I'm not saying every programmer should be a lawyer. But you can't say "how was I supposed to know that running a red light while drunk is illegal?! I'm just a delivery driver - not a lawyer."

edent 11y ago

I do receive emails from them talking about policy changes - and the BCS's position on government consultations. They also have a number of reports & white papers which members can read. Members also have access to a legal helpline. Don't think I can link to it, but it says... > As part of the ongoing commitment from BCS to invest in services and benefits, the BCS has launched a new and improved Legal Advisory Service comprising two new online legal information websites and a dedicated telephone helpline for both Business and Personal legal issues (restrictions apply*). These services are totally FREE and are provided by Law Express, the UK's leading specialist provider of legal advice. I've not had cause to use it, so I can't comment on how well it works in practice.