So when law enforcement and/or a three-letter agency rocks up with the legal paperwork (whether it be a National Security Letter or a local equivalent) and demands that "the system" be changed to start collecting the information they require, how should managers and engineers respond?
At least, that was my experience.
Sure, except if there's a nondisclosure provision...
"A national security letter is an administrative subpoena issued by the United States government to gather information for national security purposes. NSLs do not require prior approval from a judge. NSLs typically contain a nondisclosure requirement forbidding the recipient of an NSL from disclosing the FBI had requested the information."
Apple gets lots of shit for a multitude of reasons, but their stance of "We built it to be securely encrypted from everyone but the owner; if you want to change that then fuck you, make me" is something everyone involved with should be proud of
Realistically, we can't all be one of the richest companies in the modern era. Not every corporation has both morals, and pockets deep enough to pick a fight with not just a government, but the government of the country they're headquartered in. Frankly, shutting down like Lavabit is one of the better realistic scenarios if you're making promises of guaranteed privacy
I think this is easier: there isn't a single corporation on the earth with morals. Morality and profit-chasing are not generally coherent principles. Nobody doing any good on this earth has a need for an LLC.