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Even when you're the customer, you'll still be a product. They'll sell you just like credit card companies have for decades. Companies are relentlessly profit
by rectang 9y ago
Even when you're the customer, you'll still be a product. They'll sell you just like credit card companies have for decades.
Companies are relentlessly profit-optimizing entities, and they cannot forego the extra revenue stream. Employees with ethics are like tissue holding back a tidal wave.
The only way to avoid having them exploit the data is to deny them the data in the first place.
- _sdegutis 9y agoThere are some larger businesses that do right by their customers and employees, because the leadership has a strong sense ethics and of responsibility for the ethics of their whole company.
- lagolinguini 9y agoCan you give examples of such businesses, I'm genuinely curious.
- wmeredith 9y ago> Companies are relentlessly profit-optimizing entities This isn't some mysterious or predetermined force. Companies are just made of people. > and they cannot forego the extra revenue stream. Yes. They CAN. And if the incentives were in the right place they would. For instance, Coke would probably sell more fizzy sugar water if it still used cocaine as an ingredient, but it doesn't, because it's illegal.
- maxxxxx 9y agoWe need legal action on this. Reselling data needs explicit user permission with the user being able to decline. This would be very burdensome but it seems to be the only way.