Ultimately, personal data is a means to an end, and the end is Selling You Stuff For Money. Increasing wealth inequality in the US means the data collected abo

Ultimately, personal data is a means to an end, and the end is Selling You Stuff For Money. Increasing wealth inequality in the US means the data collected about most people isn't going to be worth much in absolute dollar terms. For now, the data is being gathered and brokered for the promise of its future value. That is to say, the market is largely speculative. FB and Google (and all the miserable adtech invertebrates in between) REALLY NEED advertisers to believe that this data is worth something. They need advertisers to believe that the ads are working. There is little to no objective, verifiable auditing of online ads. There is massive, rampant fraud. There's a reason why tech CEOs like talking about basic income. If nobody has any money, nobody can spend; if nobody can spend, brands won't advertise, and FB/Google go broke. Unfortunately, in the political climate of the United States, BI is a fart in a stiff wind. Speculation + fraud + shrinking middle class = one major shitstorm on the horizon...