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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 al
by 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 agoThat'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."