# Engineering Privacy by Design: Are engineers ready to live up to the challenge?

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2006.04579 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.04579/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 8 Jun 2020.

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [Evaluating Privacy Questions From Stack Overflow: Can ChatGPT Compete?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.11174/) (2023)
- [The Making of Digital Ghosts: Designing Ethical AI Afterlives](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.20094/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Organizations struggle to comply with legal requirements as well as customers calls for better data protection. On the implementation level, incorporation of privacy protections in products and services depends on the commitment of the engineers who design them. We interviewed six senior engineers, who work for globally leading IT corporations and research institutions to investigate their motivation and ability to comply with privacy regulations. Our findings point to a lack of perceived responsibility, control, autonomy, and frustrations with interactions with the legal world. While we increasingly call on engineers to go beyond functional requirements and be responsive to human values in our increasingly technological society, we may be facing the dilemma of asking engineers to live up to a challenge they are currently not ready to embrace.