How responsible are devs for how their software is used?

After the events that unfolded this Wednesday in Washington, D.C., and the responses by the social networks that were used to organize and promote these actions as well as document the lawlessness and destruction they caused, how responsible do you feel for how your software is used?

Do you think that devs and tech companies should be treated like gun manufacturers, where they build a product that can be co-opted by bad actors but aren’t responsible in any way for how those bad actors use their product?

Or do you think that we, as developers, should be more responsible about what we build and establish the guardrails necessary to dissuade or block bad actors from taking advantage of our software?

Cover photo by Joe on Unsplash.