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I can believe that some employees of these companies are genuinely shocked and surprised that this is being done, but few will refuse to do it, and fewer still

I can believe that some employees of these companies are genuinely shocked and surprised that this is being done, but few will refuse to do it, and fewer still will quit. The sad fact is that our surveillance society was built with the willing cooperation of countless developers for whom money was far more important than the privacy of their users.

n4r9 4y ago
Framing this as "money vs privacy" is disingenuous. There are many other factors at play. It takes a lot of courage and social/emotional skill to be able to say "no" to a work request in a way that is assertive, respectful, and doesn't lead to becoming a pariah. Consistently doing this in the face of deadlines and incoming requests is a big investment of energy. Switching jobs whenever you find yourself in that position is also a big investment of energy. Not everyone has that energy to spare, for example if they have a young family, are going through bereavement, divorce or moving house, or have a health condition etc... .
- bmazed 4y ago
  if you are that talented enough where companies will continue to offer you $$ to program whatever they say, then yea you do have a lot of POWER and can say NO..
  - n4r9 4y ago
    Your financial power is mostly irrelevant to the effort and skill of saying no.