IT professionals and unlawful projects: measuring your involvement

Digital jobs are, by their nature, at the service of other sectors. A developer, system administrator or data consultant may therefore find themselves, without having chosen it, working for a betting site, an adult content platform, a consumer credit lender or a loan comparison site. For a Muslim professional, the question is not whether IT is lawful, but how to assess their own involvement in the projects they are given.

This page offers a method for measuring that involvement, illustrated by common cases in IT services firms, freelancing and in-house teams. The opinions cited are those commonly expressed by scholars; a personal case deserves the insight of a qualified scholar.

Why IT is a special case

Software generally has no nature of its own: the same database can serve a hospital or a casino. Scholars therefore apply the classical criteria for indirect contribution, presented on our page about the distinction between direct and indirect participation: how specific the tool is, knowledge of its use, intention and proportion. Two factors complicate the analysis: projects change quickly, and an employee of a services company does not always choose their clients.

Four levels of involvement

1. The core of the forbidden activity

Writing the odds algorithm for a betting site, designing the subscription funnel for a pornographic site, developing the interest calculation engine for revolving credit: here the work is specific to what is forbidden. The majority position is to turn down this kind of assignment.

2. Dedicated features

The deposit module of an online casino, a player acquisition campaign, the application interface for a loan: without being the forbidden act itself, these features have no use other than serving it. Many scholars treat them like the first level.

3. Generic infrastructure for a problematic client

Maintaining servers, securing a network or migrating an email system for a gambling operator is a neutral service provided to a company whose activity is unlawful. Opinions differ: some scholars advise avoiding these clients where possible, while others consider the contribution too remote.

4. The general-purpose tool

Developing accounting software, a CMS or a hosting service sold to everyone, some of whose users will put it to forbidden use, is not generally held against its creator. Responsibility for misuse lies with the person who misuses it.

Common cases

• Banking and insurance: an assignment on a mobile app for viewing accounts is different from one on the credit approval engine. The banking context is developed on the page about conventional banking and riba.
• Gambling: publishers of casino and betting software are specifically linked to what is forbidden; see the page on gambling and betting.
• Adult content: scholars unanimously consider distributing this kind of content unlawful; contributing to it technically in a dedicated way is also unlawful.
• Programmatic advertising: an engineer on a general advertising platform does not control the ads; a role specifically responsible for the alcohol or betting segment raises more questions.
• Artificial intelligence: training a general-purpose model does not raise the same question as optimising it to maximise players' stakes.

Employee, IT services firm or freelancer: different room for manoeuvre

A freelancer chooses their clients and can set ethical criteria in their terms and conditions. An employee of an IT services company can express a preference about assignments, but the employer is not always obliged to accept it. In France, refusing an assignment provided for in the contract can have consequences; in the UK, too, a religious objection does not automatically protect an employee who refuses contractual duties. The framework is explained on our page about refusing an assignment on religious grounds. In every case, it is better to raise the subject early and tactfully, suggesting other projects.

Assessing an assignment before accepting it

1. Who is the end client and what is their main activity?
2. Does the requested feature serve only the forbidden activity?
3. Could my work be reused for a lawful client?
4. What share of my time does the assignment represent?
5. Can I be assigned elsewhere without major harm to the team?

Compatible career paths

The digital sector offers many paths free of such dilemmas: online education, healthcare, industry, public administration, e-commerce and apps for charities and community groups. Islamic fintech and halal technology platforms are also looking for developers, product specialists and security experts. Building a reputation in these segments makes it possible, over time, to choose your projects more freely.