Ask HN: Can you legally deny selling software to someone on ethical grounds?

In what way do you think you have an obligation to provide the service? Don't business with don't like. But WTF KKK? details and we'll, um. help/

This sounds like the worst of both worlds. Vehemently pro-choice employees are unlikely to be placated, and pro-lifers are going to boycott the company anyway.

Most people start by assuming you can trade with anyone willing to trade with you. Without more, you're not responsible for their use or misuse of the purchase.

I have a hard time seeing SaaS services operating to make your team complicit in the activities of the purchaser. The "aS" in SaaS doesn't usually require you to do something that can be mistaken for endorsement.

As others have said, these are principles that can end up costing your team lots of money. You all might agree to be a business that helps pro-choice people organize. But it's tiring to be a place that just deals with those of untainted virtue. If you all agree it's that kind of place, fine, but puritanism doesn't scale outside of the small social class that shares your convictions.

You probably want to talk to a lawyer in your place about specifics. I think California does prohibit some political affiliation discrimination, so you might have to sell to Rs and Ds, in that example. And if you think something might be religious discrimination, that's a gut feeling I wouldn't ignore without legal advice.

Here in America, I believe you can refuse them, as l long as they aren't a protected class. But should you?absolutely not. Even if they were the kkk. You are talking about Free Speech. And while that is between us and government, I believe Free Speech is the cornerstone to democracy, and each and everyone of us should strive to support Free Speech. Even if that means supporting speech we don't like. You may not agree with what someone is saying, but you sound right for their right to say it. In this day people seem to be fighting against the right of free speech, especially speech they don't like.

Wow, ok, there is so much misinformation in this thread...

Background: I specialize in partisan political tech consulting - primarily hired by start ups in the political tech space and VC's that are either evaluating a company in this market or have already invested and need a "subject matter expert" to make sure no one messes up too badly. This is a problem that I talk to firms and starts up about a lot (like three+ times this week).

> Is it legal not accept their business/shut down their account? Yes. As long as they are not a protected class AND the reason you are doing so is outlined in your terms of service. Even if they are a protected class there are some exceptions but leave that to your lawyers.

> By denying this group, are you locking out 50% of your market? Absolutely not. While in theory saying "my company only sells to Democrats" could be a bad idea if your product had market fit outside the political market, saying "we do not sell to Republicans" will potentially grow your market share in politics. Political organizations frequently do not spend money with vendors that also sell to their opponents.

If you are targeting the political market it is often important (if not required) to 'pick a side' at the beginning. There has never been a successful nonpartisan politically focused tech company in the US, ever. NationBuilder for example has been a complete financial failure while other companies like Polis are nonpartisan but their primary market fit is nonpolitical.

> What about Microsoft, Firefox, Stripe, or Eventbrite? They will sell to anyone! Yes and no. Stripe turned off service for the hate site Gab.com. Additionally there is a major difference between a platform (Microsoft Word) and a vital tool for winning in the political space (like a voterfile), especially in the already fairly saturated US market - internationally it's a little different, but that's really just because there are less options.

Are you a platform or a tool? Companies like Hustle have tried really hard to fall into that "platform" category but between their clients seeing them as a tool and saturation of their niche (p2p SMS services) they decided to not sell to Republicans. If they had not made this choice their Dem clients would have left.

> What should you do / how have other companies dealt with this? Assuming you are not a strictly politically focused company (which I'm guessing you're not, otherwise this would have come up earlier) the best thing to do is work with your team to come up with a terms of service that reflects your values.

A good example of this is saying "we do not allow clients to use our tools to promote violence, hate speech, or fake news through this system." I can't tell you the number of times I've gotten on the phone with some client's lawyer and they want to know what we actually define as hate speech, to which my response usually is "if you have to ask..."

Eventbrite serves both Dems and Republicans, they even have seperate staff to work with each party! That being said, NGP VAN only works with Dems and i360 only works with Republicans. Which one are you more similar to?

> Is it bad that your employees have opinions on how what they build should be use? Happens to everyone and should be celebrated, not shut down. https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/28/18116447/google-employee... https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/22/tim-cook-... https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/30/17179100/facebook-memo-le...