>As to the employees vs. users dynamic, the error here is that employees are not ultimately the control agents. Managers and investors are, and they seek, incre

>As to the employees vs. users dynamic, the error here is that employees are not ultimately the control agents. Managers and investors are, and they seek, increasingly, short-term direct profit with little concern to either overall social welfare or long-term impacts. So that's a very red herring and misleading analysis. This is precisely why I used the snake eating its own tail as a metaphor here. I believe that it's reaching the point where the managers ARE actually employees stuck in the same trap - or at least a large percentage of them are. (I'm with you that there is a class of investor that is still immune, you can picture this as the head of the snake) I've been in management, it's fairly clear that user data allows you opportunities and a competitive edge. I am also very, very aware that my data is included in that pool. I don't like it, but when asked to make a decision that keeps my product profitable, I'm going to try to use any user data I can. If I don't, I'm replaceable. If I'm not replaced, I don't have a company to manage in 5 years, because it wasn't competitive. Add on top that market consolidation is at (frankly scary) record levels, and I'd argue that the number of humans who actually have any real agency and control over how an organization behaves are dwindling precipitously. So already I've been swallowed.