As an American, I found Spyros's comment regarding possibly being sued as an interesting issue. I don't see that as a concern in the US but appreciate the reminder that different countries have different rules or practices.
But I also found even more interesting the point about making sure you have a documented paper trail for something you might disagree with. I feel that gets too close to the "just following orders" excuse (deliberate Nazi reference). In regards to the checkbox that was mentioned, if this was in reference to a dark UI pattern like a checkbox for "yes, please spam my email account with lots of crap" that defaults to checked, I personally would refuse regardless of what paper trail may exist and regardless of whether that means I lose my job. I will admit as an older male I probably feel more secure about being able to find another job or even survive financially for a bit without a job.
That's my primary answer to Keff's question. Refusing to do something illegal is mostly easy enough to identify and refuse to do. Doing something harmful is where I draw the line.
I find the "being an older male" point really interesting. I guess drawing the line or saying no is also affected by many other factors, like demographics, having other job options, financial freedom, etc... not only one's ethics. It might be easy to identify something as illegal or against your ethics, but not that easy to say no or risk being fired.
In my case, I also draw the line at something being harmful, but also if it's against my personal ethics. If it's illegal and I'm aware I would say no instantly. If I'm not sure I will research it, and then say yes or no, luckily I haven't had such experiences yet.
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As an American, I found Spyros's comment regarding possibly being sued as an interesting issue. I don't see that as a concern in the US but appreciate the reminder that different countries have different rules or practices.
But I also found even more interesting the point about making sure you have a documented paper trail for something you might disagree with. I feel that gets too close to the "just following orders" excuse (deliberate Nazi reference). In regards to the checkbox that was mentioned, if this was in reference to a dark UI pattern like a checkbox for "yes, please spam my email account with lots of crap" that defaults to checked, I personally would refuse regardless of what paper trail may exist and regardless of whether that means I lose my job. I will admit as an older male I probably feel more secure about being able to find another job or even survive financially for a bit without a job.
That's my primary answer to Keff's question. Refusing to do something illegal is mostly easy enough to identify and refuse to do. Doing something harmful is where I draw the line.
Nice to see another point of view on the matter.
I find the "being an older male" point really interesting. I guess drawing the line or saying no is also affected by many other factors, like demographics, having other job options, financial freedom, etc... not only one's ethics. It might be easy to identify something as illegal or against your ethics, but not that easy to say no or risk being fired.
In my case, I also draw the line at something being harmful, but also if it's against my personal ethics. If it's illegal and I'm aware I would say no instantly. If I'm not sure I will research it, and then say yes or no, luckily I haven't had such experiences yet.