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1. jrochk+(OP)[view] [source] 2020-06-15 17:35:01
I think you are misunderstanding my argument. My argument is you (and github employees) should feel free to raise that about the Chinese Government vis a vis the Uyghurs too.

If we agree that there are any circumstances where a company is ethically required to refuse selling it's software to a national government, then we can look at the particulars of any specific instance and decide if we think that's such a case, but we don't need to argue about whether it's appropraite to "to expect that a _federal agency_ will be denied service from a private entity," becuase we've all agreed that there are at least some circumstances where it is.

What is in fact inappropriate is to argue that a company should never be expected to deny service to a government, no matter what they do.

replies(1): >>rattra+jj1
2. rattra+jj1[view] [source] 2020-06-16 02:14:42
>>jrochk+(OP)
Yeah, thanks, you make good points here and I agree. Companies should certainly refuse service to government entities in certain cases on ethical grounds.

I think there's a moral component and a practical component. The latter becomes very difficult when taking a stand against a government entity in your home jurisdiction, since the offending government may put you out of business or something.

For example, in Nazi Germany (which I agree is a useful example to reference), a company that refused service to the Nazis would have had its executives murdered and been taken over by the state within a day. (My guess based on my recent read of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, but I may be off).

On the other hand, refusing service to North Korea (sanctions aside) is a clearly ethically correct thing and offers little practical risk for companies based in the West.

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