this post was submitted on 17 May 2024
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"We've become scared of being tracked by corporations, but for what reason?" The line between corporations and government is increasingly blurring. The amount and types of data and the ease and lack of any restrictions on the data corporations collect. To make a statement like this in the wake of project Nimbus is an indicator of naivety permissible to you by a fortunate and comfortable life. Situations within this world can turn on a dime ; I emplore you to think of the worst case scenarios with corporate data sharing if not for the future well being of yourself, than at least to minimize the support of these practices which are currently and will continue to negatively affect others. What was once considered fringe paranoia with use of these "free" services is now clear and present danger.
This is why we need consumer focused privacy laws. Within our lifetime there will no longer be free content or we will not be able to escape ads (Idiocracy style).
Agree better laws are needed for this, but ultimately there is plenty of room for free content with ads - you aren't remembering that there was good information, entertainment, and even services before the ad drivem corporate internet took over. Some things of value maybe shouldnt be free / could be better if they weren't. I'm not sure where the happy medium lies, but it has gone far too far in one direction and complacency feeds the fire.
And how much of that content was provided at a loss?
YouTube has always had ads. But less usage meant less cost. If 40% are using ad blockers, more ads will be shown to the 60%.
There is an unspoken agreement that if you consume you allow the ads. By using ad blockers, we've brought a lot of this on ourselves.
That being said, my views are very fantastical. Profit is the ultimate driver and very few (wiki who doesn't even use ads) are only hoping to cover costs.
There needs to be a balance.