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When we used to talk about the data-collection for various reasons - but primarily for ad-targetting and later personlization purposes, we always were quite con

When we used to talk about the data-collection for various reasons - but primarily for ad-targetting and later personlization purposes, we always were quite concerned. The data-collection felt very wrong. But, we kinda collectively sighed and allowed it, thinking ads are a necessary evil. First of all, as engineers, this is a cop-out. Even if we grant ads as a necessary evil, this should always have been stop-gap to a better - a less evil - business model. As engineers, we again failed to stand up against this <i>continued</i> use - for decades now. But, nobody ever agreed for the data to be made available to the State. This is a breach of trust! If anyone says their hands were tied - I say they were tied with money.

dismalaf 1y ago
> made available to the State. Guess what? Apple, Microsoft, your credit card company, phone company, etc... all comply with government warrants. At least Google stands up to dictatorships like Russia and China, unlike the others who still do business with them.
- chetanvaity 1y ago
  True. Its not just Google. And, as you say, its not just the traditional BigTech. Large companies and the State have been in complicit in power grabbing since a long time.
  - dismalaf 1y ago
    Has nothing to do with complicity. Has to do with the fact that countries' laws supercede personal privacy and always have. You can see it where companies like ProtonMail tout the country in which they're located as a competitive privacy advantage.
Workaccount2 1y ago
That's the thing though, there is no better business model. We have subscriptions, ads, and donations. 30 years into the internet, with the brightest minds of humanity trying to figure this out, no one has the better business model. The cop out is saying "there has to be a better way." What we really need is a reconciliation and recalibration of what it means to pay for something and why it needs to be done.

dismalaf 1y ago

> made available to the State. Guess what? Apple, Microsoft, your credit card company, phone company, etc... all comply with government warrants. At least Google stands up to dictatorships like Russia and China, unlike the others who still do business with them.

chetanvaity 1y ago
True. Its not just Google. And, as you say, its not just the traditional BigTech. Large companies and the State have been in complicit in power grabbing since a long time.
- dismalaf 1y ago
  Has nothing to do with complicity. Has to do with the fact that countries' laws supercede personal privacy and always have. You can see it where companies like ProtonMail tout the country in which they're located as a competitive privacy advantage.

Workaccount2 1y ago

That's the thing though, there is no better business model. We have subscriptions, ads, and donations. 30 years into the internet, with the brightest minds of humanity trying to figure this out, no one has the better business model. The cop out is saying "there has to be a better way." What we really need is a reconciliation and recalibration of what it means to pay for something and why it needs to be done.