There was an earlier discussion on HN about whether advertising should be more heavily regulated (or even banned outright). I'm starting to wonder whether most

There was an earlier discussion on HN about whether advertising should be more heavily regulated (or even banned outright). I'm starting to wonder whether most of the problems on the Web are negative side effects of the incentives created by ads (including all botnets, except those that enable ransomeware and espionage). Even the current worldwide dopamine addition is driven by apps and content created for engagement, whose entire purpose is ad revenue.