{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,29]],"date-time":"2026-04-29T09:49:54Z","timestamp":1777456194652,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,21]],"date-time":"2025-05-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1747785600000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,21]],"date-time":"2025-05-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1747785600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100013437","name":"Templeton Religion Trust","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["Science and Religion:Identity and Belief Formation"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Science and Religion:Identity and Belief Formation"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100013437","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"College of Arts and Science, Santa Clara University","award":["Student Research Grant"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Student Research Grant"]}]},{"name":"Markkula Center for Applied Ethics","award":["Hackworth Grant"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Hackworth Grant"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Big Data &amp; Society"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,6]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Tech workers often experience ethical tensions arising from the misalignment of their values and the prevailing unethical or ethically ambiguous practices concerning data and algorithms in the workplace. Despite this, there is an insufficient understanding of how tech professionals address ethical tensions. Based on interviews with 98 tech workers in China and the United States, this study explores ethical tensions, the workers\u2019 responses, and potential cross-national variations. It identifies three prevalent strategies by which tech workers navigate conflicts between their ethical principles and their companies\u2019 practices: complying with market fundamentalism, compromising personal ethics, and upholding and critiquing ethical guidelines. Cross-national differences in strategy implementation highlight nuanced approaches by tech workers in diverse economic, political, and ethical contexts. The study positions these responses within a theoretical framework of ethical agency, revealing tech workers\u2019 subtle ethical agency and the factors that constrain their decision-making processes. It also contributes data-driven insights to promote ethical practices in the global tech industry.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/20539517251340626","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,21]],"date-time":"2025-05-21T10:26:09Z","timestamp":1747823169000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Navigating ethical boundaries: Subtle agency and compliance among tech workers in China and the United States"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2747-9034","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Di","family":"Di","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Santa Clara University"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-8812-2142","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bryce","family":"Nishikawa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Santa Clara University"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_4_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0162243915606523"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10551-006-9007-7"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0891243208321019"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1536504219854714"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1215\/9781478004493-001"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0162243913509123"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_8_1","first-page":"1503","article-title":"The promise and perils of tech whistleblowing","volume":"118","author":"Bloch-Wehba H","year":"2023","unstructured":"Bloch-Wehba H (2023) The promise and perils of tech whistleblowing. Northwestern University Law Review 118: 1503\u20131562.","journal-title":"Northwestern University Law Review"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10551-006-9224-0"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_10_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1467-9558.2009.01355.x"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_11_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1162\/isec_a_00473"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_12_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/1369118X.2023.2166357"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_13_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/00258172221103015"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_14_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1086\/231294"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_15_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/001979391406700208"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_16_1","unstructured":"Guzman G Kollar M (2024) Income in the United States: 2023. 10 September. US Census Bureau. Available at: https:\/\/www.census.gov\/library\/publications\/2024\/demo\/p60-282.html (accessed 25 February 2025)."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_17_1","volume-title":"Regulating artificial intelligence in the EU, United States and China - Implications for energy systems023 IEEE PES Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Europe (ISGT EUROPE)","author":"Heymann F","year":"2023","unstructured":"Heymann F, Parginos K, Hariri A, et al. (2023) Regulating artificial intelligence in the EU, United States and China - Implications for energy systems. In: 023 IEEE PES Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Europe (ISGT EUROPE), Grenoble, France, October 2023. IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) and Universit\u00e9 Grenoble Alpes. Available at: https:\/\/hal.science\/hal-04167091 (accessed 26 February 2025)."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_18_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.23919\/JSC.2021.0033"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_19_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/20539517241259674"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_20_1","unstructured":"Information Sector of Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (2024) Q2 2024 China enterprise recruitment salary report (2024 nian di er ji du zhong guo qi ye zhao pin xin chou bao gao). 5 August. Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. Available at: https:\/\/www.hrssit.cn\/info\/3339.html (accessed 25 February 2025)."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_21_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s42256-019-0088-2"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_22_1","volume-title":"Good jobs, bad jobs: The rise of polarized and precarious employment systems in the United States, 1970s-2000s","author":"Kalleberg AL","year":"2011","unstructured":"Kalleberg AL (2011) Good jobs, bad jobs: The rise of polarized and precarious employment systems in the United States, 1970s-2000s. New York: Russell Sage Foundation."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_23_1","unstructured":"Larsen BC (2022) Governing Artificial Intelligence: Lessons from the United States and China. 1st ed. PhD Thesis Copenhagen Business School Frederiksberg Denmark."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_24_1","first-page":"275","volume-title":"Union Organizing and Collective Bargaining at a Critical Moment: Opportunities for Renewal or Continued Decline?","author":"Lewin D","year":"2024","unstructured":"Lewin D, Zhang T (2024) Emerging labor relations in high-tech industries. In: Stanger HR, Clark PF, JT D (eds) Union Organizing and Collective Bargaining at a Critical Moment: Opportunities for Renewal or Continued Decline? Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 275\u2013297."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_25_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/10670564.2017.1305487"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_26_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1043986206286918"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_27_1","first-page":"85","volume-title":"Designed in Shenzhen: Shanzhai manufacturing and maker entrepreneursProceedings of The Fifth Decennial Aarhus Conference on Critical Alternatives","author":"Lindtner S","year":"2015","unstructured":"Lindtner S, Greenspan A, Li D (2015) Designed in Shenzhen: Shanzhai manufacturing and maker entrepreneurs. In: Proceedings of The Fifth Decennial Aarhus Conference on Critical Alternatives (ed Aarhus N), 17 August 2015, pp. 85\u201396. CA \u201915. Aarhus University Press. Available at: https:\/\/dl.acm.org\/doi\/10.7146\/aahcc.v1i1.21265 (accessed 18 June 2024)."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_28_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/00221856211068488"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_29_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lu C (2022) A Study of The Metaphor of The Internet Buzzword \u201ccorporate slave\u201d in The Context of Semantics. In SHS Web of Conferences (Vol. 148 p. 01011). EDP Sciences.","DOI":"10.1051\/shsconf\/202214801011"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_30_1","unstructured":"McFall MR (2024) Map shows where tech workers earn the most money. Newsweek 30 August. Available at: https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/map-shows-where-tech-workers-earn-most-money-1945458 (accessed 25 February 2025)."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_31_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1353\/sor.2019.0022"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_32_1","unstructured":"Metz C (2021) A second Google A.I. researcher says the company fired her. The New York Times 20 February. Available at: https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/02\/19\/technology\/google-ethical-artificial-intelligence-team.html (accessed 17 June 2024)."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_33_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s42256-019-0114-4"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_34_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/1369118X.2020.1713842"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_35_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/20539517221113774"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_36_1","unstructured":"Rainie L Anderson LR (2017) Code-dependent: Pros and cons of the algorithm age. In: Pew Research Center. Available at: https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/internet\/2017\/02\/08\/code-dependent-pros-and-cons-of-the-algorithm-age\/ (accessed 9 August 2024)."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_37_1","volume-title":"The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers","author":"Salda\u00f1a J","year":"2015","unstructured":"Salda\u00f1a J (2015) The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. Sage."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_38_1","first-page":"10","article-title":"When China rules the web: Technology in service of the state","volume":"97","author":"Segal A","year":"2018","unstructured":"Segal A (2018) When China rules the web: Technology in service of the state. Foreign Affairs 97: 10.","journal-title":"Foreign Affairs"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_39_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/1369118X.2021.2014547"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_40_1","first-page":"197","article-title":"A new voice in the labor movement? Organizing for social responsibility in the tech sector","volume":"25","author":"Silbermann J","year":"2021","unstructured":"Silbermann J (2021) A new voice in the labor movement? Organizing for social responsibility in the tech sector. Employee Rights and Employment Policy Journal 25: 197\u2013256.","journal-title":"Employee Rights and Employment Policy Journal"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_41_1","unstructured":"Singer N (2018) Tech\u2019s ethical \u2018dark side\u2019: Harvard Stanford and others want to address it. The New York Times 12 February. Available at: https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/02\/12\/business\/computer-science-ethics-courses.html (accessed 6 August 2024)."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_42_1","unstructured":"Steyer J (2015) High-tech hypocrisy. Vox 18 May. Available at: https:\/\/www.vox.com\/2015\/5\/18\/11562700\/high-tech-hypocrisy (accessed 17 June 2024)."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_43_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/2053951719879468"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_44_1","unstructured":"Walsh D (2022) Timnit Gebru: Ethical AI requires institutional and structural change. Available at: https:\/\/hai.stanford.edu\/news\/timnit-gebru-ethical-ai-requires-institutional-and-structural-change (accessed 18 June 2024)."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_45_1","unstructured":"Wang Z Wang J (2022) Big tech companies in China are laying off employees: Tech companies are preparing for the \u2018winter\u2019 as regulations emerge (zhong guo hu lian wang da chang cai yuan ci qi bi fu jian guan ni feng xia jiang ben zeng xiao guo dong). Reuters 28 March. Available at: https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/feature-china-big-www-tech-job-0328-idCNKCS2LP03L (accessed 18 November 2022)."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_46_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/20539517231177620"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_47_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/oxfordhb\/9780199654925.013.006"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_48_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s40926-022-00193-5"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_49_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4000\/chinaperspectives.15869"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_50_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0007650305281848"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_51_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pcbi.1005399"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_52_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/2053951714559253"}],"container-title":["Big Data &amp; Society"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/20539517251340626","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1177\/20539517251340626","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/20539517251340626","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,28]],"date-time":"2026-04-28T13:01:14Z","timestamp":1777381274000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/20539517251340626"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,21]]},"references-count":51,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,6]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1177\/20539517251340626"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/20539517251340626","relation":{},"ISSN":["2053-9517","2053-9517"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2053-9517","type":"print"},{"value":"2053-9517","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,21]]},"article-number":"20539517251340626"}}