If an automaker sold a car with a metal spike coming out of the steering wheel instead of an air bag, would the resulting fatalities be because of the drivers' negligence too?
Of course not. Apple provides a feature with clear benefits (https://techcrunch.com/2015/02/11/apples-activation-lock-lea...: “A new report from Reuters found that iPhone theft dropped by 50 percent in London, 40 percent in San Francisco and 25 percent in New York. The drops represent theft activity as measured during the 12 months following Apple’s introduction of the remote locking feature in September 2013 as part of iOS 7“, https://www.macworld.com/article/221201/apples-lawenforcemen...: “We are hopeful that the cell phone industry will imbed persistent technology that is free to consumers that will make a phone inoperable once stolen, even if the device is off, the SIM card is removed or the phone is modified by a thief to avoid detection”), and users aren’t required to use it.
The car equivalent would be a feature where you can choose to make your fingerprint necessary to start the car, and revert that decision whenever you want to.
I think Apple could inform users a bit better about what to do before selling a Mac, but companies who use MDM should know better.