> As governments make more and more use of technology to perform acts of mass surveillance, detention, and even genocide, software authors may feel legitimately appalled at the idea that they are helping enable this by allowing their software to be used for any purpose.
This reminds me of US visa application forms. After you list all your relatives and past employers and places you've been in the last decade, there's about three pages of questions like "have you tortured kids or are you currently planning to", "have you committed genocide with biological weapons or are you planning to" and such. The idea is that genocide mongers will tick "yes", so the US can deny their visa.
> The idea is that genocide mongers will tick "yes", so the US can deny their visa.
You have failed to understand the system.
The idea is that they will tick “no”, and that then even if their crimes can't be proven to the criminal standard of proof (beyond a reasonable doubt) necessary to impose imprisonment, capital punishment, or other criminal sanction they will then be subject to civil sanction for immigration violations, including deportation and bar from future legal entry, on the lower standard applicable to those non-criminal sanctions.
This reminds me of US visa application forms. After you list all your relatives and past employers and places you've been in the last decade, there's about three pages of questions like "have you tortured kids or are you currently planning to", "have you committed genocide with biological weapons or are you planning to" and such. The idea is that genocide mongers will tick "yes", so the US can deny their visa.