Dealing with morally and legally objectionable requests from management

Question

This question was originally posted with a similar title to this but was changed as the subject was not a moral issue.

However it was a good topic for a wiki question.

There are times when you are asked to implement features which you are not comfortable with, perhaps some mass emailing program, or something which access data on a PC which is not really its to access. I would put these as morally objectionable. However there is a line when this becomes also illegal, INAL so I won't give examples.

Is it a developers’ job to know the law enough to call on these? Is it right to say no to a request on the basis of it being illegal? Can you and should you get legal advice if you are not sure? Who is liable for the effects of code you right?

Their are a lot of questions there, but in short how do you handle situations where you think that code you are asked to write may be on the wrong side of the law?

edit:

Are developers really responsable for what their code does? This seems like making a machine operator at smith and western responsible for what any guns he produces do.

Answer 1

In my country a programmer is responsible for the code he writes. If our boss asks us to perform something illegal it is our obligation to say no.

Nobody can force you to make a crime.

Answer 2

You really need to talk to a lawyer first in such a situation. There is no other option or advice worth considering. For simple questions, lawyers won't charge thousands, and getting real advice is worth it, if you really think it might be a crime.

Answer 3

simple question:

but in short how do you handle situations where you think that code you are asked to write may be on the wrong side of the law?

simple answer: don't do it.

No one (in the US anyway) can force you to do something against your will. Which means that if you perform an illegal/immoral activity, you're responsible...here's a good starting point via wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causation_(law)

There's legal liability and moral responsibility...the more important aspect is moral - you can only sell your soul once

Answer 4

Simple answer: Go talk to a lawyer if you're not sure what the laws are where you live. Asking legal advice on a web site that isn't a "get your free legal advice here from real attorneys you can verify through the Bar Association in the jurisdiction in which you live" is just being foolish.

If someone here tells you, "No, do whatever your boss says. You're not legally liable or responsible." and you listen, and then end up being sued or worse, you're not going to feel really good about the choice to ask here, are you?

Laws are specific to a jurisdiction. What you might be held liable for in San Diego, CA could be totally different in New York, NY, and most likely will be vastly different than Paris, France or Berlin, Germany. However, the person whose advice you decided to follow might be basing it on the laws where they live, or what they read somewhere and believed, or simply talking out of their backsides. Do you really want to trust your wallet (or your physical freedom) on that?

Ask programming questions on programming sites. Address questions about that funny feeling in your chest or the lump on the side of your neck to your physician. And direct legal questions to an attorney licensed in the area that has jurisdiction.

Answer 5

The answerers here seem a bit idealistic. Not everyone can afford to go to a lawyer, and not doing something doesn’t really put you in good stead with your employer, especially if they think it is legal. So just refusing to do it could result in you begin fired.

Personally I think a good first step is to talk to the people requesting the work, explain that it may not be legal and ask them to check it. I would imagine that companies have easier access to lawyers than most developers.

Now if your company is not willing to take legal advice then you may have to go it alone, but this could still make life difficult for you at work.

I should imagine some shady companies, would object to you asking or even raising the issue as that makes their own deniability more difficult.