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>“The profits are all based on the user’s info, but the users get none of the profits back.” >“As they say, with Facebook, you are the product.” Whenever peop
by 50656E6973 7y ago
>“The profits are all based on the user’s info, but the users get none of the profits back.”
>“As they say, with Facebook, you are the product.”
Whenever people become products or property of another party it's a pretty good sign something has gone very wrong.
Perhaps its time we had a Personal Data Emancipation Proclimation and positively asserted the intellectual property rights of one's own personal information over those who seek to own it through coercion and deception.
The technically literate like Woz and many on HN are among the greatest critics of these human data traffickers, while the technically illiterate masses continue to "voluntarily" give up their data; reminiscent of how upon learning to read, Frederick Douglass finally understood the reality of his bondage while noting that his fellow slaves were contented in being illiterate and ignorant.
- jarfil 7y agoFacebook gives its users access to a social platform, which is clearly something users like, without asking for any money in return. It isn't like they're forcing people to use it, people are free to decide for themselves unlike slaves. Of course no stuff is really free, so they have to get money some other way... but maybe they should be more open about it, maybe offer an "enhanced privacy mode" for like $10/month? You're still free to use any other social network though, including the ability to self-host a blog and email if you wish.
- omnimus 7y agoI think they tried in the past but their tests showed that it would be less profitable and uncovering that they make more than 10usd/month on "free" users would convince lot of users to leave.