I think you’re being unnecessarily cynical and actually incorrect here. It’s not like I’m told to implement some tiny thing where the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. The entire premise of whatever system is being built is clear, as are all the discussions with the privacy folks, the execs, marketing, designers, etc. Privacy is a constant point of discussion, and often times what engineering wants is made far more difficult by privacy, and they get the final word.