I think the op means that this is a mindset to apply on any kind of software or tech project. Think apps supported by ads or deploying tracking toolkits by default. I was looking for a blog template the other day - so many come loaded with Google analytics and silly cookie prompts for no good reason. These are things we can influence.

If the boss says we're adding third party tracking, then that's what's happening. Software engineers have little to no control over the product. The only power I have is to quit my job

There is no harm in asking things like what do they expect to get out of it, is it possible to achieve the same result with a privacy-first alternative, can it be recorded on your backend with no need to fingerprint the user etc.

“The boss” often doesn’t know or care about the implication of involving data brokers. We’re not just code monkeys.

And you think people that work at Google or Microsoft have power to pushback against the shit their employers do? LOL

I never said they did, but the OP clearly thought so. I'm just pointing out that most of us don't work there, so we don't have whatever power the OP thinks we have.

To me people have power in these situations as far as their ethics go. And in the US, ethics aren’t in high demand.

I think "most people in tech" have the choice to not use Big Tech spying services that keep gathering the data.

But how common is that choice?

Huh? That's exactly the same as all the billions of people who don't work in tech. Everyone has that choice; tech workers aren't special here. You can either use the Big Tech spying services, or not (and miss out on various things as a consequence, because of the social factor of many things).

The choice is something that everyone has, and people (tech and non-tech) exercise that choice every day. Usually, though, it's people refusing to use one Big Tech service in favor of a different one: look how many younger people now don't use Facebook, but instead use TikTok.