Agreed, in practice there isn't much liability for software engineers. De-jure however there actually is, even to the point where insurance companies like Hisco

Agreed, in practice there isn't much liability for software engineers. De-jure however there actually is, even to the point where insurance companies like Hiscox offer specfic policies for freelance/contracting software engineers. Mostly the harm a software engineer can do will be in monetary losses and not in the loss of life. Also there is the fact, that a lot of the software written will be the process of communication, sparring, feedback and iteration so establishing that a single person is at fault would be hard to prove anyways. However there are software devs that do have to tread with care (eg. in the automotive sector, defense or medical). The differentiator IMO is who is driving the demand for covering possible liability issues: The private sector or the government. That by itself (or the cultural differences) shouldn't define what "Engineering" actually means, or should it?