Every dark pattern everywhere was dreamed up by someone with few if any scruples and implemented by someone just following orders, because if they don't collect the paycheck someone else will.
I'm sorry, but "just following orders" is not a valid excuse. Millions have died because people were "just following orders".
I admit that I'm privileged and that my perspective is not subjective, but I - as an engineer - would never build something that I know it's immoral.
Yes, there are people that can't afford this choice, but I seriously doubt that FAANG engineers are in this group, or, for that matter, dare I say it, most engineers.
We come here to complain about these user-hostile features, then turn around and build some more.
In much the same way about paying people to not understand, anyone who works at a FAANG will take criticism of a company as a personal attack. But if one attaches so much of their sense of self to these behemoths, their time would be better spent asking what it says about them that they'd take on "unpaid astroturfing" as part of their job description. "Bootlicker" comes to mind.
